One of the United Kingdom’s largest meat producers, Vion, announced plans to sell off operations in the UK. The company currently employs over 13,000 workers in over 35 different plants in the UK, making it one of the country’s largest meat providers. Although their employees aren’t out of a job yet, they are left wondering what the future holds, as company’s new owner may want to lay off some of the workforce. Here we’ll take a closer look at some of the reasons that lead this otherwise successful meat producers to sell off a large portion of their business.
It’s important to note that Vion isn’t completely closing up shop and high-tailing it out of the food manufacturing and processing industry. Instead, they are selling off their UK-based operations to focus on operations in the Netherlands and Germany. The company believes these two countries are key regions to not only grow their business, but to also maintain a steady profit, which is something that was hard to come by in the UK.
Most of the UK Vion employees and workers were shocked to hear news of the company’s decision to sell their operations. After all, they’ve been in the business since the late 1990s, so they’ve experienced their fair share of ups and downs. This time, though, there isn’t enough incentive for Vion to try and bounce back. So, why exactly are they selling off their UK operations? One of the most influential factors is the ever-rising costs of livestock that’s hit the UK market. Some of the same products they were making several years ago now costs 25-35% more simply based on the price of livestock. Another possible factor that led to Vion’s decision to sell is the downward economy in the UK, which is leaving residents with less money to spend. When less money to go around, big companies like Vion see less sales.
As a result of Vion selling their UK operations, it’s likely that consumers here will see an impact on the price of their beef and meat products. It may take some time, but once the new owners take over Vion’s operations, they will have to make adjustments to remain profitable, and one of those adjustments will likely be raising prices. It’s unclear who exactly will take over Vion’s operations, but workers are hoping it will be a smooth transaction that allows them to keep their jobs.