Young's Seafood proposes closure of Grimsby processing plant

Young’s Seafood is moving forward with a plan to close its seafood-processing facility on Marsden Road in Grimsby, England.

Sofina Foods Europe, which purchased Young’s owner Eight Fifty Food Group in 2021, said in a statement the facility “was no longer financially sustainable.”

The plant, which primarily produces whitefish products, employs 297 workers, and as many as 285 of those jobs could be eliminated with the closure. Some roles will be transferred to Young’s other processing plants, including another on Humberstone Road in Grimsby and in Fraserburgh, Scotland, according to the BBC. Young's is based in Grimsby and employs 1,700 staff company-wide.

Sofina Foods Europe said it is consulting with the facility’s staff and their union before making a final decision, but that it planned to close the plant by October.

“Proposals to cease production at the Marsden Road site does not reflect on the committed and skilled teams who work there – they are a credit to the company,” a Sofina spokesperson told GrimsbyLive. "During the coming months, we will work closely with our employees and any other appropriate organization, to ensure that there is meaningful consultation before any decisions are made and that colleagues at Marsden Road have all the information and support they need."

The Young’s spokesperson blamed “changes in future demands for products produced at [the] Marsden Road site” for the movement to close the facility.  

“The company has explored a number of options to try and maintain production at the site from October 2023,” the spokesperson said. “It is with regret that we have been unable to find any viable solutions and therefore today are announcing the proposal to move the remaining whitefish processing undertaken at the Marsden Road site to the Humberstone Road site in Grimsby and the smoked processing to their Fraserburgh site in Scotland.”

Photo courtesy of Young’s Seafood