3 August 2007 - Belgian frozen foods firm Pinguin NV will cut 120 jobs at a vegetable processing plant in the UK. The Boston, Lincolnshire plant belongs to the recently-acquired frozen vegetable producer Padleys Vegetables Ltd.
Pinguin chief executive Herwig Dejonghe told ‘Thomson Financial’ that the factory was being optimised and brought into line with the group's Belgian operations.
British trade union GMB reacted by saying: “Pinguin Foods UK only purchased Padleys Vegetables on the 4th June and gave the workers an assurance that there would be no changes, this proved to be empty words and almost immediately Pinguin started changing shift patterns, etc. As a result of Padleys Vegetables and Pinguin Foods failure to consult the GMB union and its members in the correct manner when the business was transferred, the GMB union had already commenced the legal process to recover compensation when this latest body blow was announced”.
Pinguin acquired Padley Vegetables Ltd on 4 June 2007.
In May, FLEXNEWS reported that Pinguin already owned a British branch called Pinguin Foods UK. Thanks to the Padley acquisition, Pinguin would strengthen its share of the English market. This operation could reportedly double the size of Pinguin Foods UK.