POLITICIANS yesterday called on Marks & Spencer to help halt closure of a fish processing plant threatening to devastate a town in the south of Scotland.
Joan McAlpine, one of the region’s MSPs, accused the retail giant of abandoning the people of Annan after one of their suppliers, Young’s Seafood, axed the factory, threatening the jobs of up to one in 10 of the town’s workforce.
She accused M&S of squeezing suppliers on terms and said the closure of the Pinneys factory comes despite a £600,000 upgrade demanded by the company.
The SNP MSP said: “They should give them a fairer deal. M&S is huge, one of the biggest food producers in the UK, and I’m sure they could review contracts and find options that will save these jobs.”
In a letter to the supermarket’s chairman Archie Norman, she added: “This is all happening despite £600,000 being invested in Pinneys by Young’s to ensure that it met M&S standards.
“Many of the Young’s workers facing redundancy are from the same family and have spent decades producing top quality seafood for your customers. You have discarded them like spent packaging.”
Products made for M&S at Pinneys include the range of smoked salmon, shellfish and party snacks, as well as ready meals.
Young’s said the factory, which opened in 1976 and became smoked salmon supplier to the Queen, had been earmarked for closure as production was “no longer financially sustainable”.
The company last night confirmed that, as well as the 427 people permanently employed at the factory, up to another 150 agency roles are recruited at peak seasonal periods.
This means almost 600 jobs are being axed in a town with a working-age population of just 5247. If losses of the same scale were to take place in Glasgow, it would leave 48,000 people in the city out of work.
Emily Davies, 17, whose step-father works at Pinneys, has set up a petition calling for the factory to be saved. It already has 3644 signatures.
She said: “Everyone has family who work in the factory – mothers, fathers and children. Now people are going to fall into the poverty trap and that is tragic.
“My step-dad is now 50 and this is the only thing he and his friends have ever known.”
Labour MSP Colin Smyth said the impact of the job losses would be devastating for the workers and local businesses. He said: “This is like Glasgow losing 50,000 jobs overnight. It is a disaster for Annan and the south of Scotland.
“There are fundamental weaknesses in the Dumfries and Galloway economy that have been neglected for far too long and they are going to come back to haunt us.”
The Scottish Government has announced that a multi-partner group will be set up to explore all options to safeguard the future of the factory.
Young’s are recruiting for 50 jobs in the Annan scampi factory, where 110 people are currently employed, to meet increased demand. There is speculation it could be snapped up by the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation.
The company’s chief executive Bill Showalter said the planned closure of Pinneys did “not reflect on committed and skilled teams”.
He added: “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.”
As it confirmed the intention to close Pinneys, Young’s announced the creation of up to 200 salmon processing jobs in Grimsby after the takeover of M&S contracts formerly held by Five Star Fish.
It is thought 390 jobs will be lost in the Lincolnshire town because of Five Star’s demise.
An M&S spokesperson said: “M&S is committed to paying a fair price to our suppliers and we are working closely with them, as part of our transformation programme, to create a faster supply base and improve value and availability for our customers.”
© Allan MilliganThere has to be another way and M&S should help us find it
– MSP Joan McAlpine
The closure of the Pinneys plant would be a personal disaster for hundreds of families in Annan.
But Scottish salmon is the UK’s biggest food export and this decision should concern the whole country.
The response from the Scottish Government has been swift. The business minister Paul Wheelhouse is hoping to persuade Young’s to keep the “natural salmon” processing jobs here.
Quite right, too. How can a product be marketed as premium Scottish salmon when it is prepared in Grimsby?
Much of the anger in Annan has been understandably directed at the management.
However, Pinneys’ sole customer Marks & Spencer are in my view just as culpable.
For years, M&S insisted that the plant in Annan produce food exclusively for their stores. Only recently Young’s spent £600,000 upgrading the Pinneys site at M&S’s behest. But depending on just one customer makes any business vulnerable.
This is the way the big supermarkets operate. They have enormous power, squeezing farmers and other suppliers until they buckle.
I have written to M&S chairman Archie Norman demanding details of how his company may have influenced the Pinneys disaster.
M&S claims to put people and communities first. But the people of Annan did not come first.
They came last.
Why did Young’s let go the M&S contracts for prepared meals and deli products at Pinneys?
Did Marks refuse to raise its price to reflect the rising cost of raw materials, including salmon?
Did M&S even try to keep the contracts in Annan?
M&S is “restructuring” its supply base at present, to make savings. Was that behind Young’s decision to concentrate natural salmon production in Grimsby?
I have urged Marks to start talking to the Scottish Government and to make amends to Annan.
They value their public image. It’s time they lived up to it.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe