A north-east MSP said serious questions need to be asked about the future of the fish processing sector in the wake of the job cuts at Marine Harvest.
The firm took over a lucrative supermarket salmon contract from Young’s Seafood last year, sparking a jobs crisis at the Young’s factory in Fraserburgh.
As many as 650 workers are facing redundancy as a result of the contract loss and subsequent restructuring.
Now north-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald has said serious questions must be asked about how the Scottish Government can support the industry in the future.
He said: “Around 100 people are going to be out of work and their situation is very serious – many live in small communities a long way from the nearest jobs.
“But the fact the Marine Harvest is making 100 redundancies on the farming side certainly raises questions about the company’s operations in Scotland as a whole.”
Mr Macdonald added that the taskforce established to support Young’s workers must work hard to find possible alternative operators for the Watermill Road plant.
In December, the Scottish Government announced a major jobs fair would be held in Fraserburgh for Young’s staff facing redundancy. The event will take place at the town’s North East Scotland College campus on Thursday from 10am-4pm.
The success of the fair and questions over the future of Young’s operations in the north-east will be discussed when the Fraserburgh Taskforce meet again in the town the next day.