Fear has set in for factory workers facing redundancy, says employee

An employee of a meat processing company, which plans to stop work at its Linden Foods retail packing facility in County Tyrone, has said fear for the future has set in for workers after the initial shock following the announcement.

Dominic Molloy, who is also a Sinn Féin councillor, said he plans to work with APB to see if any of the more than 300 at risk jobs can be protected.

He works as an employee at a different factory but said the news from the Granville Industrial Estate in Dungannon had affected the whole workforce and put into question the security of other jobs.

A spokesperson for ABP, which owns Linden Foods, said it was "a very difficult step" but the company was "facing a challenging and changing UK and global marketplace for beef and lamb".

Linden Foods processes and manufactures beef, lamb, pork and chicken for branded and own label products.

Its parent company ABP has entered into a formal consultation process with 338 employees.

"This is 338 people whose jobs are at risk and those people have families, they have bills to pay, they have futures to look after," Molloy said.

"I know the company have given assurances to the other sites but again in the moving market place we're in, who knows, we take the company at their word that those jobs are secure at this time" he said.

Molloy described the current position of the at risk jobs as "really down to the wire".

The company said they would try to "minimise the impact on those who are affected", including by redeployment where possible.

In their statement, ABP added: "Changes in the UK landscape have led to the difficult but necessary requirement to consolidate and reduce the number of our retail packing facilities situated within the UK including Northern Ireland."

ABP Linden Foods receives and processes cattle and sheep at a separate facility that is also located within Granville Industrial Estate, but these jobs are not impacted.

ABP's Lurgan and Newry sites and Kettyle Irish Foods in Lisnaskea are also not impacted.

Glena McDowell-Khan, a mental health charity worker in Dungannon said the factory's closure would have a massive impact on families and to the local Timorese community - many of who are employed by the factory.

"A lot of our clients are Timorese," she said.

"This was a massive shock. From last night to today I think I have received 24 calls from people panicking and worrying where they go from this."

She added some families will have multiple members working at the factory which will mean they will be particularly impacted if it closes.

"Everybody in the town is scared, especially as we didn't know this was going to happen" she said.

Local DUP councillor Mark Robinson said the job loss announcement was devastating for those affected.

However, he added that he had been contacted directly by a number of businesses who said they were in need of staff.

He said that, coupled with the potential for redeployment, offered at least "a glimmer of hope" for some.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Diana Armstrong said she was deeply concerned by the announcement.

"My thoughts are with all those affected and with their families, particularly coming so soon after Christmas, when household finances are already under significant pressure," she said.

"There is the very real prospect that some people may be forced to travel further afield or even relocate to find alternative employment, which brings additional financial and personal strain."

Armstrong has called on the Economy Minister to engage with ABP Foods, trade unions and relevant agencies to ensure all available support is put in place.

Dungannon and South Tyrone Chamber of Commerce said a full closure of the business would send "shockwaves through the town" and would be "damaging for other local businesses, town centre traders, and property owners" who provide rental accommodation for workers.

They said any job losses should be "implemented gradually rather than through a complete and immediate shutdown" and said they would be willing to provide a central space in the town centre for agencies to come together and provide an information clinic for employees concerned about their future.