Councillors in Fraserburgh have issued a rallying cry to the community to implore fish processors Young’s Seafood not to abandon the town.
Negotiations are ongoing as the seafood giant considers the closure of its factory in Fraserburgh’s Watermill Road – a move which would cut 900 jobs.
SNP councillors Brian Topping and Charles Buchan have drafted a petition, entitled “Young’s Please Stay”, which is being distributed throughout the town.
Last night Mr Buchan, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s fisheries sub-committee, said he hoped the move would underline the far-reaching repercussions of closure.
Mr Buchan said: “It’s not only the employees in the business who will be affected because there are so many other firms and local tradesmen who do work for Young’s.
“Shops in the town will be affected simply by the lack of income coming into the economy.”
Mr Buchan said last month’s announcement that the plant was facing closure had dealt a “substantial knock back to the town.”
A letter, which the councillors will deliver to Young’s chief executive Pete Ward before the firm’s board meet later this month, asks that bosses remember the “long working relationship” it has had with the people of Fraserburgh.
Mr Topping, who said he had been involved in behind the scenes negotiations over the threatened job losses, said it is time for the whole community to take positive action.
Appealing directly to the firm, he said: “We urge you to stay here.
“You are a big part of the community and the whole economy. It’s not just a petition – it’s a plea to stay.
“The community is begging you to stay.”
The move has been backed by union spokesman Alex Moonan, who has held talks with senior officials from Young’s.
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers’ (USDAW) representative said: “I think it’s brilliant – their help is greatly appreciated and hopefully the town will show what a large impact this could have.”
Mr Moonan said a so-called “option three” – whereby Young’s could keep the factory open with a reduced staff of 250 – was still on the table.
However, hundreds of agency and permanent workers would still be made redundant in a move that would hurt “every business in the town”.
“This can only help to put our message across,” he said.
“Every time we’ve been to meetings we have discussed the impact on the community so this will show it’s not just coming from us.
“I think Young’s realise that, but realising it and seeing it are two different things. We’ll hear our fate after the board meeting at the end of the month.”
Last night a Young’s Seafood spokeswoman said: “We welcome all input from interested parties, and will feed this in for consideration as part of the consultation process.”
The firm announced last month that it would begin looking for options for its Fraserburgh site after it lost a lucrative salmon processing contract with supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s.
The company has said it would offer an “enhanced exit payment” for staff.
A top boss at Young’s left the company last week as the restructuring process continued.
Wayne Hudson – the firm’s frozen business unit manager – is no longer in his post, however, a spokeswoman said Young’s could not say if Mr Hudson had left as part of a redundancy deal.