AN SNP MSP has said that the news of job losses at giant Scottish firm Baxters Food Group is “concerning”.
Richard Lochhead, who represents Moray which includes the company’s headquarters in Fochabers, added that he had “no doubt” many workers and families will be extremely worried.
The 150-year-old Scottish firm, which produces food products such as canned soups and sauces, confirmed to The National that the company has made a number of staff layoffs due to “unprecedented inflationary pressures”.
A company spokesperson said this ultimately “impacted our business performance”.
The company didn’t confirm the number of layoffs, nor which sites were impacted but claimed it was only a “small number of reductions within our workforce”.
But an anonymous source who first contacted The National claiming to be one of those who lost their job said it had impacted “numerous employees” at “all sites”, including the firm’s headquarters in Fochabers, as well as Edinburgh and North America.
The full statement from Baxters read: “Like many organisations, we are experiencing unprecedented inflationary pressures which has impacted our business performance. As a result we have made the difficult but necessary decision to make a small number of reductions within our workforce.”
Commenting, Lochhead (above) said: “The news of job losses at Baxters is concerning and no doubt many workers and their families will be extremely worried, especially given the difficult financial situation and the pressure on household incomes at the moment.
“I’m aware that Baxters have stated the layoffs were due to ‘unprecedented inflationary pressure’ which of course highlights the serious impact of the high inflation we’ve been experiencing across the UK in the last few years.
"I will be seeking clarity from Baxters as to the nature of the job losses and will strongly urge them to ensure all options that prevents any job losses are fully explored.”
