Young’s Seafood has confirmed the closure of its Pinneys of Scotland plant in Annan, it was announced today.
The iconic fish factory will close towards the end of 2018.
Young’s Seafood Limited said despite exploring alternative options the company had not been able to find any “viable alternative”. This comes after consultation over proposals to move production to prevent closure. Youngs had initially pushed to move its remaining salmon production at the Pinneys site, to its existing facility in Grimsby, North East England.
Read Scottish processor, Pinney’s, not done yet
No viable alternatives
However the firm said in a statement today: “Unfortunately, having explored this in detail for some time and despite the consultation process, we have not been able to agree any viable alternatives to the closure of the Pinneys site.
“Accordingly, the company now intends to progress with its initial proposals.”
The owners of Grimsby-based Young’s Seafood — which was, in part, being counted on to save its Scottish processor Pinney’s — have now put the company up for sale.
Efforts have been ongoing throughout that period to try to save hundreds of jobs that are crucial to the local economy. The company entered into formal consultation with staff and their representatives on April 16.
Hundreds of jobs at risk
“The decision to close the Pinneys site does not mean that collective consultation has ended,” said a spokesperson talking to the BBC.
“We intend to continue to meet with employee representatives on a fortnightly basis to discuss ongoing items, including redeployment opportunities.”
“Our dedicated, skilled teams at Pinneys are a credit to our company and we will work hard to maintain the employment of our colleagues wherever possible,” added the spokesperson.
“We have a long history of seafood production in Annan and, given that we have another factory in the town where we are a significant employer, we are committed to continuing to play a role in the local community.”
Devastating news that Young’s are to proceed with Pinneys closure. Sadly redundancies now inevitable & imminent. Workforce have shown incredible professionalism throughout and deserve all available support. Priority now is to secure a new buyer to retain production at the site. pic.twitter.com/guNAagXo8a
— Oliver Mundell MSP (@olivermundell) May 31, 2018
Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell said it was “devastating news” with up to 450 redundancies now “inevitable and imminent”.
He said the priority was to find a buyer to retain production on the site.
Pinneys are one of Annan’s largest employers.
