Britain’s biggest seafood firm is being urged to lessen the blow to a community facing job loses after Young’s announced it is closing a factory.
Hundreds of jobs will be lost after Young’s Seafood decided there was no “viable alternative” to shutting the Pinneys of Scotland plant in Annan.
Enterprise Minister Paul Wheelhouse has written to the firm saying it has a “moral obligation” to “do right” by the local community.
Tangible action to lessen the “bitter blow” of the decision to close the site should be undertaken by Young’s, the minister said.
Wheelhouse said there was “at least one credible investor” who had shown an interest in the factory.
Complex negotiations would be aided if Young’s delayed its plans to transfer natural salmon production to Grimsby, as reported yesterday by SalmonBusiness.
The company will remain a key employer in the area with its scampi production but Wheelhouse urged the firm to make a financial contribution to supporting “legacy projects” in the area.
The funding would be used to “sustain and ultimately grow” the local economy after the Pinneys closure.
A spokesperson for Young’s told the BBC: “We are considering the proposals in the letter in detail as part of our ongoing consultation process.”
