Former Cumbrian Seafoods and Border Laird staff stand to lose their jobs as Lion Capital kicks off a major restructure after buying the two companies’ assets.

Cumbrian and sister company Border Laird went into administration on 5 December. The business, customer contracts and equipment of the companies were snapped up from administrators by Young’s Seafood owner Lion Capital on the same day.

However, this week, Young’s Seafood announced that it intended to make up to 555 positions redundant across the three sites that service the customer contracts it purchased.

Young’s has proposed that, subject to consultation, up to 363 jobs will go from Cumbrian’s former Seaham site, 112 from its Whitehaven facility and 80 from the former Border Laird site in Amble.

The proposal means that the vast majority of staff who transferred during the sale process will be made redundant.

In a letter to creditors, PwC reported that 578 staff were employed across the three sites, meaning that only 23 are likely to keep their jobs.

Young’s wanted to ensure it delivered quality products to its customers in the most effective and efficient way, said chief operating officer Pete Ward. “We continue to be focused on fulfilling customer contracts and talking, in detail, with the employees about options for the future,” he added.

The cuts did not reflect on the “committed and skilled” teams, he added.

Source

Richard Ford

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