The Produce World Group has announced a restructuring of its business that will see two of its U.K. sites closing and potentially lead to jobs losses. 

The company intends to form a joint venture growing, harvesting, packing and marketing brassicas with Lincolnshire Field Products (LFP) based at Wykeham in England which would be responsible for processing and packing.

As a result, the Produce World Group has proposed the closures of its site at Butterwick, and consultations have started with staff and their representatives.

A release says that although job losses are anticipated at Butterwick, around 60 new jobs will be created at Wykeham.

The factory at Swinderby is also proposed for closures with all processing and packing of conventionally grown root vegetables moved to another site at Isleham.

Additional processing and storage facilities are being built at the Isleham site to cope with the additional tonnage, and a number of new jobs will also be created.

"At Produce World we are growing our business and developing a structure which will enable us to meet the current and future challenges in the industry," the group's executive chairman Neil Fraser says in the release.

"We are operating in a low margin business and more consolidation across the industry is inevitable. At the same time our customers are experiencing a period of unprecedented competition and changing consumer shopping habits.

"We are very much aware of the impact that the proposed closures will have on our colleagues at Butterwick and Swinderby, and we have considered and will consider every possible option before implementing these proposals. Both sites will remain open for a number of months and we will do everything we can to help colleagues to find alternative employment including jobs within the Produce World Group."

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