McCain Foods is reducing production at some of its UK sites due a downturn in demand as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
The frozen chips giant stated that while it had seen strong sales of its products in supermarkets and other retailers, the shutting down of the hospitality sector meant total demand had been “significantly reduced”. The group supplies products to restaurants, pubs and other foodservice outlets.
McCain is temporarily scaling back production to match the reduced demand and will be furloughing some staff as part of the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme.
A company spokesperson said: “These temporary measures are to preserve jobs and ensure a sustainable business in the long term. We remain committed to all our employees and ongoing operations in the UK and, when customer demand dictates that full production resumes, we look forward to welcoming our employees back.”
