Bromborough Tulip workers tell of their devastation at sudden closure announcement

Jan 8 2009 By Lorna Hughes

Tulip Bromborough

WORKERS at Brombrough have told of their devastation at being told Tulip Foods could close later this year with the loss of 303 jobs.

Staff were called into the factory's canteen to be given the news just after 1pm - in a meeting they say was originally scheduled for an update on pay negotiations.

A 49-year-old man from Moreton, who has been working at Tulip for two years, said: "People walked in to the meeting laughing and joking - then they told us we were on 90 days' closure plus 90 days notice.

"People were crying their eyes out and you needed a mop for the tears.

"I've only been there for two years but for some of the staff it's all they've known, a lot of them came to Bromborough from the old factory in Moreton and before that New Brighton."

The father-of-three added: "It just came right out of the blue."

Ten lines at the Bromborough site pack and slice cooked meats for Marks & Spencer, with one line working on ham for the Co-op.  

Peter Judge, managing director (North East) of Tulip UK Ltd, said: "Against the backdrop of the continuing worsening of the UK economy we have been looking at a number of ways in which to secure a long term future for the Bromborough site, unfortunately however, we cannot currently see a viable alternative to closure.

"We have been working tirelessly to find ways to negate the current economic downturn and have had to take some very tough decisions to secure as many jobs as possible throughout our operation, unfortunately however we have not been able to find a way to secure the long term future of the Bromborough site.

"Therefore the proposal is for a full closure of the business later this year. Clearly this news is a devastating blow to everyone at the site however I can assure you that it is in no way a reflection on the commitment or skill of the team here."