Council warns over closure of Northumberland Foods

Sep 1 2010 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

THE closure of a North East food factory will have far-reaching and long-lasting implications, a council has warned.

Northumberland Foods at Amble has ceased trading, with all 250 members of staff made redundant.

The company’s demise came two days after it was placed into administration and after a sale to a potential buyer fell through at the 11th hour.

Northumberland County Council has now issued a report to all members updating them on the situation with the company. In the report, seen by The Journal, the council’s corporate director of regeneration and public protection Richard Robson spells out potential impacts of the firm’s demise.

He said: “The loss of wages will impact widely in the local community, directly on employees and those in the supply chain, but also on suppliers of local services.

“The impact on the local farming community throughout Northumberland will also be severe in that some growers are owed six figure sums and have already planted potatoes for future supply to the business.

“Jobs lost as a result of a closure will be extremely difficult to replace and the negative impacts can be expected to be far-reaching and potentially long-lasting.”

The council’s report reveals that the unemployment rate in Amble East was 4.8% in July, compared with 3.3% in the county as a whole.