Potential buyers of Vion Food's pork processing plant in UK are being evaluated and talks are ongoing with the owners, according to Scottish government's finance secretary John Swinney.
The second meeting of the Hall's of Broxburn Taskforce has been completed. The Taskforce was appointed to safeguard jobs after Vion Food UK initiated a 90-day consultation exercise with workers and unions at the site earlier this month.
Swinney said that while the government cannot acquire the plant, it can engage in dialogue with a range of parties that would have an interest in the plant.
"Clearly, Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise are pursuing that discussion in the market place with the objective of encouraging different players who could run this plant profitably and successfully," Swinney added.
Hall's of Broxburn was acquired by Vion Food in August 2008, when it purchased the struggling food firm Grampian Country Food. The facility employs 1,150 permanent and 595 agency staff, and handles 8,000 pigs each week.
Vion noted that the plant continued to register losses despite significant investments and major restructuring exercises over the past four years. It has blamed the complexity and inefficient layout of the plant, tough market conditions, and over-capacity in the UK meat industry for the losses.
