GRIMSBY seafood giant Icelandic Seachill has confirmed that the number of redundancies resulting from the decision to leave the ready meals market will be lower than expected.
The exit from the specialist production sector, which put 250 jobs at risk and was first announced in February, will be completed by August, as proposed.
No exact figures have been made public, as talks continue, with bosses "confident that many will be successfully redeployed to the company's other sites".
Meals are concentrated on the former Coldwater West site on Estate Road Five at South Humberside Industrial Estate, and the major supplier of fish to Tesco, Asda, Marks and Spencer and others, as well as brand Saucy Fish Co, also operates the coated facility on Estate Road Two and chilled on Great Grimsby Business Park. Together they employ more than 1,500 people.
At the time then chief executive Malcolm Eley, who has since left the business, told how the meals element had never been profitable, and how the proposal was based on a requirement for significant investment in one of three Grimsby sites it owns, and a drop in consumer demand.
Since then, Saucy has launched in 390 superstores in the US, backed up with heavy promotion at the Boston Seafood Show, as well as being listed in Waitrose in the UK. Production is all done in Grimsby.
In a statement, the company said: "Icelandic Seachill has today confirmed that the number of redundancies that will result from our exit from the production of ready meals at the end of August will be lower than originally anticipated. Following the end of the 45 day collective consultation period there have been talks with employees about opportunities elsewhere at Icelandic Seachill and are confident that many will successfully be redeployed to the company's other sites."
Today, in the Grimsby Telegraph, five jobs are being advertised with the business, where Magnus Bjarnason, chief executive of Icelandic Group, is in an interim UK chief executive position.
A spokesperson said: "Icelandic Seachill is currently recruiting for a number of specialist roles which it was unable to fill through the consultation process. These positions are key to supporting the company's continued growth and investment within the core business.
"Throughout the initial consultation period, Icelandic has been committed to support all employees directly impacted and are pleased at levels of redeployment, during a regrettable redundancy process.
"Icelandic Seachill is committed to utilising the strength of its strong seafood capabilities and supply chain expertise to grow the company presence in the UK retail market, and ongoing recruitment is a key part of this process."
