Threat to future of Lynn's Del Monte
STAFF at West Lynn's Del Monte factory were said to have been left sobbing after reportedly being warned the site could shut within months – with the loss of 82 jobs.
It is believed staff were told to down tools at 2pm on Thursday and called into a meeting where they were told the site could close early next year.
The news follows the closure of Methwold's Del Monte factory in May last year, when around 230 employees lost their jobs, and the imminent closure of Lynn's landmark Campbells factory, which transferred to Premier Foods last year.
One West Lynn Del Monte worker, who has been with the firm for 25 years, told the Lynn News UK managing director Peter Miller visited the site and told workers the factory could shut early next year.
He said: "They said it was not definite yet and no contracts have been signed.
"I think one or two people had their suspicions for a while.
"It's been on the cards for some time but it's still a shock when it comes. We have all got mortgages and families.
"You take the job for granted – you get up and go to work and don't expect something like this to happen." The West Lynn factory, in Bankside, supplies supermarkets all over the country with fruit juice and canned foods and currently employs 82 people on three shifts.
The site, which operates 24-hours a day from Monday to Friday, has a number of longserving workers and has employed generations of families over the years.
Staff were reportedly told the site would become very valuable should the factory be closed because of the multi-million pound plans to build a marina on Lynn's Boal Quay, almost directly opposite.
A production operative who has been at the site for ten years said: "It's devastating. It's your work, your life and everything you have worked for in the balance.
"The job market in Lynn isn't great and with Campbells about to shut for good there is going to be a lot of people looking for work. Obviously we are also worried about our pensions.
"I know the market is very competitive but Del Monte has always seemed to come through it before. People are in tears – these people have given 30 and 35 years of their lives to this company."
Another worker said: "All the workers feel cheated and stabbed in the back."
No-one at Del Monte was available to comment.
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Weather for Kings Lynn
Monday 06 September 2010
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