Young's Seafood Grimsby site closure proposal puts 285 jobs at risk

Young's is Grimsby's largest private employer, with about 1,700 staff

More than 280 jobs are at risk after the proposed closure of a Young's Seafood factory in Grimsby.

Proposals have been announced to stop production at the Marsden Road site and move what is left to its other factory in Grimsby and a site in Scotland.

Sofina Foods Europe, which owns Young's, said the threatened site, which employs 297 people, was "no longer financially sustainable".

Staff and unions will be consulted before any formal decision is made.

The company said the Marsden Road site, which is predominantly used to produce its whitefish products, could cease production from October.

A spokesperson said the proposed closure could potentially result in the loss of 285 roles but said the firm would "work hard to maintain the employment of all colleagues throughout this transition".

They added: "During the coming months, we will work closely with our employees and any other appropriate organisation, to ensure that there is meaningful consultation before any decisions are made and that colleagues at Marsden Road have all the information and support they need."

Young's has been operating in Grimsby for 50 years

Analysis by Lara King, BBC Radio Humberside reporter

This is obviously a major blow to workers at Young's here in Grimsby and a huge blow for the town as well.

Young's Seafood dates back to 1805, when it all began in Greenwich, and has been part of the town's history for the past 50 years when it moved to north east Lincolnshire.

Not only is it Grimsby's biggest private employer, with 1,700 staff based in the town, but it has been at the heart of the community for all those years, including sponsoring Grimsby Town FC for 18 years.

The 285 workers at the Marsden Road factory are now under threat of redundancy because the firm says it's no longer financially sustainable.

So while its whitefish production is likely to stop at that site, workers could be redeployed to its Humberstone Road factory.

Sofina said the proposals had been made "following changes in future demands for products" produced at the Marsden Road factory and the inability to "find any viable solutions".

It said a number of new roles would be created at the town's other site on Humberstone Road and at Fraserburgh in Scotland.

The spokesperson said: "Proposals to cease production at the Marsden Road site does not reflect on the committed and skilled teams who work there - they are a credit to the company."

One woman, who did not want to be named, said her son had worked at the site for 20 years and had been expecting the announcement.

She added: "They knew something was coming but they didn't know what. It wasn't a shock or a surprise."