Hundreds of jobs at risk at Smethwick factory
Hundreds of jobs could now be at risk as a West Midlands chicken processing factory has announced it could close.
The 2 Sisters Food Group has said it is considering plans to close its plant, based at Bevan Way in Smethwick.
The plant currently employs 630 people at Alpha Business Park.
If it does close, the food group said it would offer affected staff up to 200 roles in the West Midlands and look to redeploy others throughout the group.
The company, which owns a number of food brands including Goodfella's Pizza and Fox's Biscuits, said: "We can confirm we are consulting with colleagues about a proposal to cease production at our poultry processing site in Smethwick and as a result the site could close.
"The factory at Bevan Way, Alpha Business Park, is ageing and has significant challenges to meet the standards required by ourselves and our customers.
"We do not take this decision lightly and fully understand the impact if this proposal goes ahead. This is why we will offer affected colleagues up to 200 roles currently at our West Midlands locations, which we will convert from agency to permanent roles.
"In addition, we will also seek redeployment of colleagues to our other sites in the West Midlands and the wider Group.
"We are committed to our operations in the West Midlands and will work hard to ensure all possible options for colleagues are fully explored before any final decisions are made."
The plant opened in 1996.
