No hope for us now... or our town
Workers admit defeat in fight to save plant
Seafood workers yesterday admitted hope of reversing a plant closure threatening to devastate their town has evaporated.
The owners confirmed on Thursday the Pinneys plant on the outskirts of Annan – a factory at the heart of the Mumfriesshire town for more than 40 years – is to shut its doors.
At least 450 workers will lose their jobs – in a town with a population of 8,500 – with the first redundancies coming this month.
For Janice Thomson and her husband, Gary, it is a devastating blow.
The couple work at Pinneys, as does their son- in- law. Janice’s mum Jessie bupton, 84, worked there in the 1970s.
Gary, 41, has been at the factory for 19 years but because he changed his role last year to a contract with a privately- run cleaning firm at Pinneys, he will get no redundancy pay.
Janice, 52, said the reality of Thursday’s decision was just sinking in.
“It felt like a kick in the guts for us all,” she added.
“The financial pressures on families have been enormous since we first heard our jobs were under threat.
“Now the reality is finally here that we are going to have to find other employment.
“Gut that will not be easy and it will be even harder to find jobs that pay as well as Pinneys did. It will be life-changing for us all.”
In the town, business owners and operators are also braced for tough times ahead.
Joan Carter only opened her main street florist shop, Flowers by Joan, in February.
“It is not just a worry for me, it is a big blow for the whole town,” she said.
Pinneys solely supplied Marks g Spencer and the redundancies were confirmed last week despite MSPs urging the retail giant to intervene to save the plant.
Young’s Seafood said that it had not been able to find any “viable alternative” to closure which would now take place towards the end of the year.
Mumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell said redundancies were now “inevitable and imminent”.
“Time is now running out to secure any sort of positive outcome and any lifeline for the town would be a godsend,” he said.
Unite Scotland industrial officer Andy MacFarlane said the closure of the factory following a 45-day consultation was “extremely disappointing”.