Seafood giant to create 200 jobs on back of town rival’s woes
Two hundred new jobs are to be created by Young’s at its Grimsby site after the seafood giant said it had secured three new contracts with M&S in news which comes days after it was announced that almost 400 jobs at the town’s Five Star Fish hang in the balance.
Young’s Grimsby site will supply M&S with chilled and frozen coated fish, natural salmon and white fish.
It was announced last week that 390 jobs at Five Star Fish, part of the 2 Sisters Food Group, were at risk after its owners said the business was “heavily loss-making”.
Five Star Fish was thought to be having difficulties fulfilling its obligations to Marks & Spencer, The Grimsby Telegraph reported.
Young’s Seafood announced it was taking over the company’s contracts with Marks & Spencer through to 2023.
However, the news of jobs for Grimsby comes with a blow for another Young’s site, with the company announcing plans to close its Pinney’s site in Annan, in the south of Scotland, putting 450 jobs at risk.
The company said it is “no longer financially sustainable” to keep the factory open.
It is understood that under the proposals, the facility, which had been largely dedicated to producing seafood for Marks & Spencer, would close before the end of 2018.
In a statement, Young’s said: “Following a review of its UK operations, the company proposes to move the remaining natural salmon production undertaken at the Pinneys site to Young’s existing natural salmon facility at its Humberstone Road site in Grimsby. This proposal continues the company’s ‘One Young’s’ strategy in seeking to focus investments on centres of excellence to ensure Young’s is best positioned for future growth in the context of exceptionally challenging market conditions. As a result of these proposals, Young’s Seafood is proposing to close its Young’s Pinneys site in Annan.
“Young’s Seafood will now commence a formal consultation with staff and their representatives at its Young’s Pinneys site as soon as practicable following the election of employee representatives to discuss and consider options.
“Should these proposals be implemented, the company will need to recruit 200 new roles in Grimsby, in addition to recruiting up to 50 roles at its Scampi factory in Annan to support growth. If these proposals go ahead, employees at Young’s Pinneys will be provided with information regarding these new roles and will be given preference over new recruitment.”
Bill Showalter, CEO of Young’s Seafood, added: “The decision by M&S to partner with Young’s to supply its chilled and frozen coated fish, white fish and natural salmon underlines our continued position as the UK’s leading seafood supplier. Together with M&S, we will aim to inspire people to love fish now and for generations to come.
“Today’s proposals to close our Young’s Pinneys site does not reflect on the committed and skilled teams at Young’s Pinneys – they are a credit to our company and if these proposals do go ahead we will work hard to maintain the employment of all colleagues throughout this transition. We have a long history of seafood production in Annan and whatever the outcome of the consultation we will continue to be a part of the community, given our other factory site within the town.”
