Produce supplier Farmcare is to enter a period of consultation with staff at its Carnoustie potato packhouse after a significant packing contract was not renewed.
The company said it expects the reduction in trading volume “to result in the need to reduce packhouse staffing levels”, while the lack of processing facilities at the Carnoustie site means it cannot offer a broader service to customers.
“Farmcare believes long-term investment to deliver processing capability is not commercially viable for the business,” a company statement said.
The company expects to reduce packing volume in September but will continue to supply a range of customers. The news comes as earlier this year Farmcare said it was consolidating packing operations between its sites at Langley Brook in Staffordshire, and Carnoustie.
Chief executive Richard Quinn said the business is dedicated to exploring new business opportunities. “We’ve already had an encouraging account win with a large retail customer, resulting in securing a long-term relationship: this will help secure a number of roles at the Carnoustie site,” he said.
‘’However, it is with regret that at this time we need to move into a period of consultation with our Carnoustie colleagues in order to bring costs in line with our business. These are challenging decisions for any long-term minded business and over the coming weeks we will be focused on supporting our team throughout the consultation process.’’
’We’re proud to be an employer in Scotland and we want to approach the consultation in the most transparent way possible, as we genuinely care for the future of the great team we have at Carnoustie,” he added.
“We will be offering guidance and support to those directly affected and will seek to utilise voluntary redundancies as a way to reduce the number of compulsory redundancies required. We will, of course, also explore alternative employment opportunities for those affected.”
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