Statement on Redundancies at Dawn Meats UK

Both the First Minister and I were deeply saddened to hear of the fire at the Cross Hands meat processing facility of Dawn Meats UK (formerly Dawn Pac) on the night of 11 June.  Although 160 staff were actually working at the site at the time of the fire, I am extremely relieved  that nobody was injured during the evacuation of the building.  I understand that a full inquiry into the cause of the fire is now underway.

I understand that around half of the meat processing facility was completely destroyed.  This has the obvious impact of reducing the amount of raw meat which can be processed on the Cross Hands site.  The company has therefore had to take the decision to make 183 members of staff redundant, although 163 staff will remain at the site.  This will, of course, be a major blow to the area, since Dawn Meats is one of the largest employers in the vicinity.

The Assembly provided Regional Selective Assistance to assist the company to establish in Cross Hands in 1992.  We have subsequently assisted two expansions there as well, helping to grow employment to over 350.

Dawn Meats processes raw meat into pre-packed joints and minced meat for leading supermarkets across the UK.  Due to the obvious problems following the fire, it has managed to divert orders to its other UK operations, in order to maintain continuity of supply to its customers.  It is planned to resume production – at a reduced level - at the Cross Hands site on 5 July.

The Welsh Assembly Government has remained in close contact with the company throughout its time in Wales, as has the Welsh Development Agency.  Assembly officials, together with representatives of the WDA, Carmarthenshire County Council and the company, met on 14 June to discuss what assistance could be provided following the fire.  Both the Agency and the Assembly described what additional assistance they might be able to provide.  Indeed, the Agency offered to find the company temporary alternate premises, so it could assist the company in these difficult times.

A Task Force is now being set up (comprising ELWa, the Employment Service, Job Centres, the WDA and the local Council) to ensure that all possible assistance is provided to the affected 183 staff.

With regard to the remaining 163 staff, the WDA, together with the local Council, and members of the Irish parent Group, are meeting tomorrow to discuss the situation in more detail.  In addition the Assembly is happy to support added value processing in Wales through its Processing and Marketing Grant, which is managed by the WDA.