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200 Yorkshire bacon factory jobs go
SHOCKWAVES reverberated around the region's rural economy yesterday as one of the biggest employers in the meat sector announced that hundreds of jobs are due to go from its Yorkshire operation.
A total of 200 workers at the Malton bacon factory in North Yorkshire are facing redundancy after global food producer Vion announced it was shedding the posts as part of a major restructuring.
The announcement that a fifth of the 1,000-strong Yorkshire workforce is due to be axed provoked widespread concerns from pig farmers who voiced fears over the amount of meat which would be now be processed.
Grant Burton, who farms 280 acres with his brother Mark at Wilberfoss to the east of York, oversees the breeding of 10,000 pigs each year, with the majority heading to the factory. "Any reduction in capacity would be a real concern for local pig farmers, especially as the sector is going through a particularly tough time. For many years, Malton has been the local pig processing plant and farmers have come to rely on it.
"It is obviously extremely sad news for those employees who will be affected, but it is a sign of the times for the pig industry."
Leader of Ryedale District Council Liberal Democrat group Howard Keal lives in Norton, near Malton, where the factory is located. "The factory is a vital component of the local economy and the announcement that 200 jobs are to be axed is a hammer blow.
"As well as the serious impact to the workforce, it will undoubtedly damage businesses and suppliers around the region."
Conservative MP for Ryedale John Greenway described the job losses as "tragic" and stressed it was vital that
the factory's production capacity was not affected. "It is another grim piece of news for the local economy."
Pig production is expected to fall by up to seven per cent nationally from the 170,000 animals which are currently being processed each week in Britain, according to the National Pig Association.
Association chairman Stewart Houston said: "We know there has been over-capacity and therefore inefficiency in the pig sector for some time. Obviously it is extremely bad news for the employees affected, but this is a move to hopefully ensure the company becomes more efficient which will be for the good of industry in the long run."
Vion bought up Grampian, which previously owned the Yorkshire factory, last summer before conducting a review of operations.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
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