THE closure of the Pinneys factory in Annan that could eventually cost hundreds of jobs in the area is well under way with no hope in sight of a buyer.

The National can reveal that with a vital production line having closed, almost half of the expected 450 redundancies will have taken place by the end of this week with the rest to follow next month and complete closure is now expected by early October.

The National can also reveal that strenuous efforts are being made by the workers, their representatives, trade union Unite, politicans and the Scottish Government’s PACE team to force Young’s to part with the plant – the firm has refused to do so because it fears competition from a new owner using the dedicated and highly-trained staff.

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One source close to that effort said: “The problem is that Young’s wants maximum commercial value after not investing sufficiently and every company that has looked at it has concluded that it would cost too much to have any chance of making it profitable.”

The news comes three days after local MP and Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell and his son, Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell, issued a joint statement calling for the Scottish Government to buy the plant to keep alive the hopes of new jobs for the town where Pinneys, owned by Young’s Seafood of Grimsby, was the largest employer.

The National:

Their intervention has met with a mixed response. One source at the factory told The National: “It’s a nothing statement, it’s too little, too late, and with half of the workforce going by the end of next week, people have to find jobs in 10 days time and there’s not a lot about, so how is the Scottish Government buying the factory going to help us?

“It smacks of them playing politics, and anyway, David Mundell should be getting the UK Government involved because the investment is going to Grimsby.”

SNP MSP Angus McNeil tweeted: “Is this after the Mundells Tories gave Young’s money to create jobs in Grimbsy which was same number they cut in Annan! ... David Mundell is shameless here.”

A Unite spokesman said: “The consultation period for redundancies was reduced by the Tory Government from 90 days to 45 and that’s why people are going already.

“I would like to think David Mundell would take that point about employment rights on board.”

Oliver Mundell told The National that he and his father spoke out to stop the factory mothballed.

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He said: “The point about employment rights is a political argument for another time. We have to concentrate just now on finding a solution, though given the years of underinvestment by Young’s, whether it was 45 days or 90 days there wasn’t likely to be a buyer.

“I admit there are mixed views on what the options for the future are, but we have got to a point where there are no good options.”

Young’s has not commented.