Jobs to go at Birds Eye

Process workers are among those losing their jobs

Almost 10 workers at Bird's Eye Walls' factory in Lowestoft, Suffolk, are to lose their jobs.

Staff were told in a letter from general manager Graham Cooke that 70 posts are going in an effort to cut costs.

Fifty of those posts will go in the next year out of a total work workforce of around 800.

Mr Cooke said the decision was taken to make the site more competitive by lowering its wage bill by £2m.

The company hopes most of job losses, mainly among engineers and food processors, will come from volunteers.

Right skills

There will be compulsory redundancies if there are not enough suitable volunteers.

Mr Cooke said: "The primary focus during this restructure will be on ensuring that the site achieves the correct skills and competencies balance within the teams.

"This is essential when the numbers are being reduced by the extent proposed."

The cuts come 10 weeks after Birds Eye announced 320 jobs were to go from its ice-cream factory in Gloucester as part of a restructuring programme aimed at lowering costs.