2 Sisters chicken factory ends production ahead of closure

(Source: 2sfg.com)

West Midlands-based 2 Sisters Food Group has ended production at its Essex factory ahead of its permanent closure.

The poultry giant is closing the site in Witham with the loss of 400 jobs.

528 staff were employed at the site, with 102 of those roles redeployed to its sister site in Thetford, Norfolk and its Bernard Matthews site at Holton, Suffolk.

2 Sisters said an additional 65 roles were offered at the Bernard Matthews BM site but they were not taken up.

The company said a skeleton team of 12 would stay on to decommission the factory until October.

2 Sisters said: “We have been able to redeploy around 100 colleagues to our other sites in the region, and more hard work will continue until the end of next month to help assist people with other local opportunities both within and outside our wider group.

“We would like to reiterate that the tough decision to cease operations at Witham is no reflection on the colleagues at site who have been dedicated, loyal and hardworking, and we would like thank all for their professionalism during a very unsettling time.”

In May, the group announced plans for its turnaround, including major investment in its brands and the closure of some of its UK facilities.

It said it would be reducing the number of UK poultry sites to produce “shorter, more efficient supply chains” and reviewing loss-making sites.

The company has been pushing ahead with a transformation strategy, appointing Ronald Kers from Muller as chief executive last year to lead the turnaround.

His appointment followed a turbulent few months for the company, which was implicated in a food hygienescandal following an investigation by The Guardian and ITV.

The investigation uncovered poor hygiene operations at the 2 Sisters’ chicken processing plant in West Bromwich, leading to operations being temporarily suspended.

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