Tulip to close Bodmin facility in UK

UK-based food producing company Tulip is set to start the consultation process over proposals to cease production at the Bodmin site in Cornwall.

The consultation process, which will run for a period of 45 days, is expected to conclude on 9 December.

BBC quoted the company as saying in a statement that its site in Bodmin had been “operating at a significant loss for several years” and it was “unsustainable to maintain operations under the existing business model.”

The proposal to shut the facility is expected to put 270 jobs at risk.

In response to the company’s announcement trade union, Unite the Union, said that Tulip’s proposal to close the Bodmin site is “another shockwave to the already battered Cornish economy.”

Unite the Union regional officer Deborah Hopkins said: “This is another blow for Bodmin. Tulip used to be one of the primary employers in Bodmin and the local community will suffer greatly from these losses just before Christmas.

“The relentless loss of jobs from Tulip in recent years reflects other job losses from food and drink processing across Cornwall, primarily in the middle and east of the county, at a time when wages are stagnating.

“What we are seeing is workers being made redundant in the food processing sector and then they are shunted to another similar, often low paid, job – and then that site closes. It is a terrible downward spiral that erodes hope.”

Unite further added that it will continue to work with its members at the company to offer support to them.