UNITED KINGDOM-MORE MEAY LAY OFF’S.
Nearly 200 people are set to lose their jobs when a poultry processing factory closes in Suffolk, according to Business EDP.
The Moy Park plant on Mildenhall Road, Bury St Edmunds, is to close, with production being transferred to a larger site in Lincolnshire. Negotiations have already begun with the 188 people employed at the factory.
The company blames the increasing price of wheat – crucial for poultry feed – for the decision to close the plant, coupled with the need to achieve better economies of scale at its larger factory.
A company spokesman said, "The main growth sector for chicken sales is swayed in favour more for portions than whole birds, and, consequently, Moy Park has invested close to £30 million in another far larger facility in Lincolnshire."
He said the smaller Bury facility had become increasingly untenable over the last nine months, and would have required a ’significant’ investment to become competitive.
Moy Park employs more than 1,000 people at its Lincolnshire site.