2 Sisters is considering closing its Solway Foods chilled foods factory, claiming the scale of investment required raises questions over its long-term viability.
The group kicked off consultations with staff at the loss-making site, in Corby, Northamptonshire, last week. Closing the site, which produces salads and coleslaw, would put 900 jobs at risk.
2 Sisters said it intended to explore “all possibilities and options availables” but admitted there was a risk of closure.
Despite considerable investment over the past two years, 2 Sisters’ current assessment was that on-going additional funding was required just to keep pace with the demands of a modern high-care food production facility.
“The scale of this continuing investment means the site would potentially not be viable in the long term,” it said. In addition, the complexity of serving a wide customer base with an ever-increasing product mix is not a viable proposition for the future.”
2 Sisters was “totally committed” to the long-term production of the “highest-quality food” for customers but said it must be done in a sustainable and responsible way.
The 45 day consultation period would allow 2 Sisters to explore its options for the site.
Last week, it emerged that M&S had ended a cake contract with 2 Sisters-owned Avana Bakeries and given the business to Park Cakes. It put 650 staff at the Avana site in Newport, Wales, at risk of redundancy.
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