As many as 600 jobs could be lost at a chicken factory in Witham, Essex, as plans are made to shut the site.
The company behind brand Fox's Biscuits, 2 Sisters Food Group (2SFG), announced it was considering closing the processing plant "as part of an on-going review of the company's loss-making sites", Essex Live has reported .
2 Sisters Food Group is owned by the same group that controls the Ed's Easy Diner and Giraffe restaurant chains.
The firm has has begun consultations with members of staff at the factory, located on the Freebournes Industrial Estate, with hopes of moving them to other roles in the company.
Union group Unite works with employees in the Witham factory and claims that the factory employs 600 people.
Ronald Kers, chief executive officer of 2SFG, said: "We're all acutely aware that some of our plans, such as reducing our UK poultry footprint, brings uncertainty for colleagues, and it is with regret that we have to make such proposals. But the alternative of doing nothing and hoping for an upturn is not an option."
The factory works to pack and cut meat for fresh and frozen food in some of the UK's major supermarkets.
Regional officer at Unite, Michelle Cook, said: "The announcement that the 2 Sisters Food Group plans to shut its poultry processing plant at Witham, Essex is grim news for the 600-strong workforce and, more generally, for the Essex economy.
"Unite is seeking an urgent meeting with the management to clarify the implications of what is proposed.
"Our first priority will be our members at this very worrying time for them and their families. We will be seeking to avoid compulsory redundancies and explore opportunities for redeployment to other 2 Sisters' sites across the region during the consultation period."
2 Sisters Food Group is one of the UK's largest food manufacturers.
Mr Kers continued: "Our stated strategy is to become the number one poultry plus business in Europe and for several months now we have been engaged in a strategic review to facilitate our delivery on this, focussed on improving execution, reducing cost and building a better organisational culture.
"But there is now a pressing need to accelerate our turnaround so we can further increase the performance of our business.
"That's why we're keen to invest where we see potential growth: our UK Poultry business will benefit from this further investment and work which has already started to get Fox's Biscuits in shape for the future ramps up to the next level with some major investment around automation, marketing and product innovation."
