UK food supplier Orchard House Food has gone into administration, leaving hundreds without jobs and redundancy pay. The company, which is based in Northamptonshire, with a plant in Gateshead, Tyneside, went into administration on Tuesday January 10th. The move leaves hundreds of people, both in Gateshead and in Corby, without employment.
Thenorthernecho.co.uk reported on the situation, explaining that Orchard House Foods provides prepared fruit, juices, smoothies and yoghurts to many corporate customers, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Pret A Manger. In August, the company announced that its Gateshead plant would shut down in the coming months, with work relocated to Northamptonshire.
Administrators called in to help unpaid staff
In December, with less than 24-hours’ warning, the company failed to pay its Gateshead staff their promised redundancy packages and wages for accrued holiday. This left some of them seeking help from foodbanks and with no cash to pay for presents over Christmas.
The factory at Gateshead is now closed and in the final stages of being mothballed. Some workers from Gateshead who came to Corby to help transfer operations have also not been paid.
A spokesperson for Orchard House Foods said: “Today, we have announced the start of a legal process to appoint an administrator. We have had to take this action given the extremely challenging economic and trading conditions that have badly hit Orchard House Foods. The economic conditions have meant increased input prices and overheads, and this has significantly increased pressure on our cash position. As a result, the Directors have taken the difficult decision to file with the Courts a notice of intention to appoint an administrator.
Source: northantstelegraph.co.uk
