The Scottish business minister, Jamie Hepburn, is seeking an urgent meeting with the bosses of the Edinburgh Salmon Company which announced it was facing sale or closure.
On Friday 28th of October, SalmonBusiness reported that the jobs of 163 staff and a further 100 agency workers at the Edinburgh Salmon Company were under threat.
Protect
North politicians have called on the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands to step in to protect 263 employees at Dingwall based, Edinburgh Salmon Company, (ESCo) according to the Pressandjournal.
Thai Union Group subsidiary Européenne de la Mer has proposed the sale or closure of Dingwall, Scotland-based business The Edinburgh Salmon Company Ltd (ESCo), in light of the firm’s continued heavy losses of more than £7 million.
Anxious time
MSP Jamie Hepburn said: “I was extremely concerned to learn of plans by Thai Union to divest the Edinburgh Salmon Company site in Dingwall.
“This will be a very anxious time for all the staff at the site and also for the local area, where the company is a major employer.”
He added: “I have sought an urgent discussion with the general manager at the Dingwall site and, in addition, Highlands and Islands Enterprise is in contact the company to establish what support it can offer.
“HIE will engage throughout the consultation period to do what it can to help find a buyer for the site and retain the jobs in Dingwall.
“Should there be job losses, our PACE team stands ready to offer its full support to staff. By providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to help those affected by redundancy get back into work as quickly as possible.”
A company spokeswoman said: “We actively informed the Scottish Government as soon as we had spoken to our staff. We have had a number of conversations already and are grateful for any support in our work to find a potential buyer for the business.”
She added: “The company will actively pursue and explore all viable divestment opportunities in an attempt to avoid, reduce, and/or mitigate the potential impacts upon its valued employees. Our employees at ESCo are our primary consideration. If we are unable to find a viable alternative to the proposed closure we will then carry out individual consultations with at-risk employees.”
