Mowi to close Dingwall processing site

MOWI looks set to close the former Wester Ross processing facility at Dingwall, local reports have said.

Around 15 people will be affected but they will be offered jobs at other facilities within the company.

The Ross-shire Journal report said Mowi has entered a consultation period with the staff with a proposal to permanently close the site, formerly known as Wester Ross Fisheries.

The company has said all staff will be offered similar or other employment with Mowi throughout the company’s value chain that includes fish processing plants, salmon hatcheries, ocean farms, and a feed mill. Processing would be moved to other Mowi sites in Scotland.

Mowi Scotland bought a controlling stake in Wester Ross Fisheries over a year ago which at the time was one of the last independently owned salmon farming businesses in Scotland.

The company specialised in premium products and had a policy prohibiting the use of antibiotics.

In February Mowi globally indicated that it wanted to reduce the size of its workforce by around 12%, while stressing that there would be no compulsory redundancies. The aim is to save around £20 million.

The plan also involves streamlining the business through introducing more automation and renegotiating contracts with suppliers.

During the summer it announced closure of the a secondary processing operation in Donegal, Ireland where 33 people were employed.

The company is expecting to be hit by higher tax bills in Norway, the Faroe Islands and, probably, Iceland but it is not known if this has played a part in the Scottish or Irish closure announcements.