Tulip Ltd has confirmed it has lost a contract to supply retailer Marks & Spencer, and will close its Boston plant, putting 464 employees at risk, if a new replacement contract is not sourced.
It said the site, which employs 464 people, would close in August if new customer arrangements could not be put in place.
Tulip confirmed to Meat Management magazine that it has informed the workforce at Boston and that is has been unsuccessful in a major customer tender process.
As a result, the sliced cooked meats site will commence collective consultation with the site Works Committee soon, over potential job losses.
It is anticipated that existing commercial commitments will come to an end in August this year.
A spokesperson for Tulip said: “We have been notified of a decision in respect of a tender process with a key customer. The news is not what we had expected and clearly we are all are deeply disappointed.
“Tulip has a high profile in the area and remains committed to the region, with other sites in Ruskington, Spalding and King’s Lynn, as well as Boston.
“We will explore every opportunity to look at alternatives and minimise any impact on our people’s livelihoods. In the meantime, we are committed to seeing out our existing contractual obligations.”
The spokesperson added: “Tulip’s cost savings programme remains unchanged by this news. We are committed to saving 200M DK during the current financial year and getting the business back into profit.
“This has been boosted in recent weeks, having signed new long-term agreements with two key strategic customer partners. However, our immediate focus is on ensuring we support our colleagues in Boston.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
