Hundreds of jobs at risk as ready meal factory threatened with closure

The owners of the Pennine Foods ready meal factory in Sheffield have begun consulting on a possible closure of the facility, with around 600 jobs at risk.

The parent company of Pennine Foods, 2 Sisters Food Group, described the factory as “heavily loss-making”.

In a statement released yesterday, a spokesman for 2 Sisters Food Group said: “Pennine Foods has undertaken a full strategic review of its business and has regrettably concluded its operation in Sheffield is not sustainable for the long-term.

“The site continues to be heavily loss-making, and despite major investment in recent years, we are unable to reverse the situation.

“Therefore we are now consulting with colleagues on our proposals, which include potential closure of the site. However, we are committed to exploring the full range of options available to us before any final decisions are made.

“We do not take this decision lightly and fully understand the impact if this proposal goes ahead. Our primary focus now will be to support our colleagues and their representatives during the consultation process to ensure we reach the best possible outcome for all parties.”

Labour MP Clive Betts, who represents Sheffield South East constituency, said he would meet with senior executives in a bid to try and save the factory.

He said news of its potential closure was “a bitter blow” to its employees and to the whole of the surrounding community.

The Pennine Foods Sheffield site was established more than 30 years ago and in recent years has received £38m worth of development work.