2 Sisters Food Group will close its poultry processing plant in Wales on March 31.
A 45-day consultation period between the UK private group, the Unite union and worker representatives was scheduled to end on Sunday (March 12).
However, in a statement, 2 Sisters said: “All parties agree that a viable alternative to closure is unlikely to be put forward before the end of this week when the consultation ends.”
In January 2 Sisters announced plans to close the site, which is located in Llangefni on Anglesey. At the time, the company said: “Unfortunately, the review shows that our Llangefni factory is not sustainable. It’s old, one of our smaller sites, and it lacks the space to be efficient.”
Two weeks ago, the Welsh government claimed that 2 Sisters had failed to come up with a viable plan for the factory and that the company was moving forward with plans to end production. 2 Sisters insisted that no decision had been made.
In today’s (March 10) statement, the company said: “Clearly this is very worrying news for everyone involved and a very difficult time for everyone at the factory.
“Our only and continuing focus is those affected by the upcoming lockdown, so we will now intensify the support we are providing to all colleagues.
“We look forward to updating stakeholders in the coming weeks with some positive news about our efforts to redeploy colleagues within our broader business, as well as help them find suitable opportunities outside of the company.”
A separate statement sent on behalf of 2 Sisters and Unite read: “It was agreed that it is in the best interest of all colleagues that the wind-out period is as short as possible operationally, the intention is for the latest production date. . be March 31.
“Production volumes will be significantly reduced during this period to maximize the time available for staff members to attend support events that will continue throughout. The final individual consultations will take place in the next two weeks.”
