Meat sector suffers cold cuts on job front

Jobs are under pressure in the meat processing sector, as firms continue to cut costs and consolidate operations.

Donegal Meat Processors, part of the Foyle Food group, took the decision to slash 70 jobs at its processing plant in Ireland last month, according to the The Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU). This is because the site's boning hall operations will be moved to its site in Northern Ireland.

Elsewhere, turkey processor Bernard Matthews has won planning permission to extend two buildings at its Holton site in Suffolk. The move will create additional processing capacity and consolidate packing operations.

The approval follows an announcement, early in February, which stated that its frozen whole bird operations from Great Witchingham would transfer to its plant in Holton in early 2011. This could effect up to 160 jobs.

"Key to this is the fact that the frozen whole bird part of our business is currently unprofitable," said Jeff Halliwell, the UK md. "Rather than exit the frozen bird market we carried out a detailed review of the operation and developed a plan that ensures this part of the business returns to profitability."

Last month Vion announced180 job cuts at its Haverhill cooked meats site. "Against a backdrop of an increasingly competitive marketplace, Vion Haverhill has been undergoing restructuring and a programme of investment is being implemented," said Andy Hills, md at Haverhill. "Unfortunately, such changes can take time. Our focus continues to build a site that will deliver quality products to the UK market."

This follows Vion's January announcement of up to 200 job cuts at its Gaerwen site, because of a reduced demand for processed lamb.