330 jobs at risk after Young’s Seafood loses major Sainsbury’s contract

Around 330 jobs could be at risk after Grimsby-based Young’s Seafood lost a major supplying contract with supermarket chain Sainsbury’s.

The union Unite, who predicted the jobs at risk figure, have said that the loss of the contract to provide fresh salmon and smoked salmon is “extremely serious.”

The employees who are likely to be let go are based at the Marsden Road site, which would be around two-thirds of the workforce of 300 staff and 200 agency workers.

With three plants in Grimsby, Young’s Seafood employs around a total of 2,000 workers.

Dave Monaghan, Unite regional officer, told ITV: “This is extremely serious and very worrying news for the workforce at Marsden Road and also for the local economy.

“At present, we are not sure how many jobs will be lost. The company is looking to obtain new contracts to fill the void left by the loss of the contract to prepare, smoke, freeze and deliver salmon to Sainsbury’s.

“We will be working closely with management in the days and weeks to come to mitigate any job losses. At present, we can’t put a figure on the number of job losses, if any. The worst case scenario would be in the region of 330 jobs lost.”

Pete Ward, CEO Young’s Seafood, explained: “Sainsbury’s wished to protect its Scottish salmon sourcing credentials and believed an alternative proposal could better achieve this objective. This alternative proposal also offered Sainsbury a dedicated facility. Sainsbury’s remains an important customer for Young’s and we will continue to work together in other categories to deliver great fish and seafood products to Sainsbury’s customers.

“We will be engaging with our employees and other stakeholders to discuss the implications for our business and how we can best position our company to achieve long term, sustainable growth in the current competitive market place. As we move forward, exploring a number of new business opportunities, our focus continues to be on serving our customers and consumers and on our commitment to providing high quality, good value, fish and seafood.”

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