News Update: 12th June 2009

Morecambe announce staff consultation

A fire broke out at the 2 Sisters Food Group factory on White Lund Industrial Estate in Morecambe during the early hours of Monday 25 May.

Since this date the factory has remained closed as the full extent of the damage was assessed. Some employees have been deployed to other sites to assist with customer orders and a small number are assisting with the clean up operation at Morecambe. During this period employees were paid their normal basic pay.

The assessment from the structural engineers has been completed. The Morecambe facility has sustained considerable fire damage and as a result is un-operational. With deep regret, 2 Sisters is proposing to make all employees at the Morecambe site redundant.

The company has informed staff that they have initiated a 90 day consultation period. The company would like to mitigate redundancies wherever possible and part of the consultation will consider alternative employment opportunities at other sites within the group.

The proposed redundancies could affect as many as a 162 employees who are currently employed at the Morecambe site. The company propose to pay employees their statutory redundancy payment. 

2 Sisters PR Executive, Peter King said:
“We’re very disappointed that we have had to take the decision to release our Morecambe employees. Given the current economic climate and the extent of the fire damage, it was simply not possible to find a realistic alternative.

“The decision to release the employees is not in any way a reflection on the skill and dedication of the workforce. The company would look to help employees’ secure new jobs elsewhere.

About 2 Sisters Morecambe:
Morecambe produced a range of ready to eat and rotisserie chicken products for retailers. The site employed about 160 full time employees.

About 2 Sisters Food Group:
2 Sisters is a privately owned, international food company that employs about five thousand people and has an annual turnover of more than £650m. It has 13 manufacturing sites in the UK, which includes our facility in Morecambe, one in the Netherlands and two in the US.

2 Sisters is a leading processor of fresh and prepared chicken, supplying the retail, foodservice and food manufacturing sectors. Our aspiration at 2 Sisters is to deliver the best quality products for the lowest possible cost.

For further information
Peter King, Group PR, 2 Sisters Food Group
Telephone: 07812 661083