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Asda defends Vion bacon decision

Asda has defended its decision to switch bacon supplier from Vion, at the cost of 180 jobs, claiming the new move will create 385 new jobs.

News broke yesterday that Vion was set to restructure its bacon operations at Scunthorpe, with the loss of around 180 jobs, following the loss of an Asda contract.

However, an Asda spokesman said: "Following a strategic review of our gammon and bacon business, we have taken the decision to change suppliers. As a result we expect a significant number of new jobs to be created at two factories in Yorkshire - approximately 350 in West Yorkshire and a further 35 in North Yorkshire.

"The amount of product we source from British pig farmers is completely unaffected by this announcement. In fact we expect to increase the amount of British gammon and bacon we sell in 2011 when these changes come into effect.

"As a result of this decision, Vion will stop supplying Asda with gammon and bacon products. However Vion remains a key and valued supplier for Asda across a number of fresh categories, including chicken, lamb and pork."

Vion said the move would mean 120 redundancies at its Scunthorpe operation, along with a further 60 temporary contracts not being renewed.

Steve Francis, managing director of Vion's UK Pork business unit, said: "Our business has shown improved performance this year as a result of continued investment and the hard work of our people.

"We are clearly very disappointed with this news. We have been in intensive discussions with our supply chain partners to mitigate the impact on the site, but regrettably there is no alternative but to restructure the shape of our business.

"We regret the need for these changes in our activities announced today and have informed our employees and their Union representatives of our commitment to consult with them.

"We remain determined to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Scunthorpe site, and will do all that we can to maintain our core workforce. We have started the consultation process and we will look at all opportunities to minimise job losses, including agency staff, and seeking volunteers for any redundancies that may become necessary.

"At the same time, we will actively seek new business to replace the lost volumes. The commitment from the team at Scunthorpe has never been in question."

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