Tulip to close Birkenhead site

COOKED meats firm Tulip has announced that it has begun consultation with 214 workers at its Tranfoods meat processing plant in Birkenhead over plans to close the site.

The Danish-owned company bought the site in November last year as part of its takeover of Parkam Foods. Since then, the company said it had been “working to try and address a number of operational and technical issues at the lossmaking site”.

Instead, the firm now plans to move production to another group facility.

Tulip chief operating officer Peter Judge said: “The harsh reality is that there are a number of very serious operational and technical issues at the Tranfoods site and it would require significant investment to bring the Abbey Street facility up to the manufacturing standards of the rest of the Tulip Group.

“Given the current overcapacity in the market and the prevailing economic climate, we do not believe there is a viable alternative other than the proposed closure of the site.”