Vion rejects public sector offer for Hall’s Broxburn plant
Vion rejects public sector offer for Hall’s Broxburn plant
Vion has rejected, what has been described as, a significant public sector offer, to save the threatened Hall’s plant in Broxburn.
The proposal was developed by the Scottish government and West Lothian Council. Council leader, John McGinty said: We remain totally committed to the aim of securing the best possible outcome for the workforce at Hall’s of Broxburn. It’s extremely disappointing that Vion’s management has rejected the serious and creative offer by the Scottish Government and West Lothian Council. With the 90-day consultation period finishing in less than three weeks, it is now clear that finding a buyer for the plant could be the only viable option to save jobs.”
A spokesman for Vion said, according to the BBC: “We greatly appreciate the serious offer of support the Scottish government has made and thank them for the significant assistance they have provided since the start of the consultation process.
“However, given the scale of the losses at Hall’s of £79,000 per day and the complexity and inefficient layout of the factory, we regret that we are unable to accept this support.
“It would be wrong to accept the offer of public money knowing it is significantly below the amount required to resolve the core legacy problems at the site and would only serve to delay any potential decision regarding closure.
“The Broxburn plant is competing against much larger, modern plants across Europe and to establish such a facility on the site would cost in excess of £100 million and take up to two years of mounting losses to complete.
“Unfortunately, the structural issues within the market and the problematic nature of the outdated facility, which we have been consistent about throughout this process, mean we have still not identified a viable solution for the Hall’s site.”
