Seafood giant Mowi plans to close a fish processing plant in Scotland, citing cost-saving measures as the reason behind the decision.
The Dingwall facility in northern Scotland currently employs approximately 15 staff members. Mowi has initiated consultations with the employees and aims to relocate production to its other processing plants in Scotland.
Mowi assures that all staff members affected by the closure will be offered similar or alternative employment opportunities within the company’s value chain, which comprises fish processing plants, salmon hatcheries, ocean farms, and a feed mill.
The Norwegian-based company acquired the Dingwall plant from Wester Ross Fisheries in June of last year.
Scotland represents the third-largest market for Mowi in terms of harvest volumes, according to the company’s annual report.
Earlier this year, Mowi announced its intention to reduce its workforce by 435 employees across the business as part of its cost-saving initiatives. However, the company emphasized that no redundancies would be made.
The planned workforce reductions are part of Mowi’s wider cost-saving plan implemented in 2018. The aim is to decrease the enterprise’s workforce by 12%.
According to a spokesperson from Mowi, the reduction in full-time employees will occur through natural turnover, retirement, reduced overtime, and lower contracted labor.
Furthermore, the company intends to streamline its operations by implementing more automation and renegotiating contracts with suppliers.
In 2022, Mowi experienced a significant revenue increase of 17.5% to reach €4.94bn ($5.21bn). The company’s operational EBIT also saw a notable growth of 92% year on year, reaching €1.01bn. Additionally, its profit stood at €785.3m, marking a 60% increase compared to the previous year.
Mowi achieved an all-time high revenue of €1.37bn in the second quarter of 2023, surpassing the €1.23bn of the corresponding quarter in 2022. However, operational EBIT decreased year-on-year to €299.5m from €320m, primarily due to lower prices and increased costs in the farming segment.
The Norwegian salmon farmer remains optimistic about its full-year harvest guidance, projecting a record-high harvest volume of 484,000 tonnes, representing a 4.4% growth compared to the previous year.
Alongside the release of its second-quarter results, Mowi also revealed its intention to pursue its “legal interests” in response to the government’s upcoming aquaculture tax implementation.
