 Many workers had been at the plant for 30 years |
The Birds Eye factory in Grimsby has closed, bringing to an end 50 years of production in the town. The final shift was clearing the Ladysmith Road site on Tuesday ready for new owners Alpine Coldstores to take over next month.
Half of the site's 620 workers have yet to find new jobs.
Factory worker Liz Wilkinson said: "It's been like a family to me and this is like a death because we all feel as if we are mourning."
New owners
Work at the factory ceased on Monday when the last ready meals rolled of the production line.
Alpine Coldstores plans to start its own manufacturing production in March.
Alpine already runs one site in Grimsby - a warehouse used to store frozen food products.
The factory originally began producing fish fingers in 1955. That production line ended in 1999 when ready meals became the manufacturing focus of the plant.
Parent group Unilever announced the closure in October saying the site had become too small to be competitive in the frozen foods market.
Union leaders and council bosses failed to persuade the food giant to reverse its closure decision despite a concerted campaign.
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