Welsh Country Foods: 350 Anglesey jobs at risk 11 January 2013 Last updated at 13:26 A lamb processing business on Anglesey has announced it may be forced to close with the loss of 350 jobs. Welsh Country Foods said it was beginning a 90-day consultation exercise with unions and workers. The decision was taken after the Dutch-owned plant lost "key customer" Asda. The Unite union has pledged to work "strenuously" to see if a new business plan can be produced to save the threatened jobs. Eindhoven-based food group Vion confirmed supplying Asda represents about 50% of business at its Gaerwen plant. It is the last remaining major abattoir in north Wales, and as such plays a vital strategic role in serving farmers in the region. End Quote Dai Davies Hybu Cig Cymru Meat Promotion Wales Jose Peralta, managing director of Vion's red meat business, described Friday as "an extremely difficult day for everyone at Welsh Country Foods following the decision by its key customer to de-list Welsh Country Foods as a supplier." He said the company recognised the impact the decision would have on the local economy and the community in Anglesey. "We are currently in discussions with the retailer to establish if their decision can be overturned and if any steps can be taken to mitigate their decision," he said. Welsh Country Foods employs almost 350 staff, and is the major processing facility for Welsh lamb in north Wales, handling 640,000 lambs a year. Vion took over from Grampian Foods in 2008, when the plant employed nearly 600 workers. Unite said the plant's main customer Asda had found an alternative supplier and the announcement was "desperately sad." Immediate priority Andy Richards, Unite Wales secretary said: "The news that Vion could shut its Welsh Country Foods site on Anglesey is a blow to those who work there, the local community and the economy of the island. This is a sad start to 2013 for our members and we will be doing all we can to ensure both support and a viable future for Welsh workers at Welsh Country Foods. We need investment, not cuts to jobs in Wales and I will be raising this matter urgently with the Welsh government. Dai Davies, chairman of Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales, said he hopes a solution can be found to save the jobs. He said if the plant closed it would be a "hammer blow" to the entire food and farming industry in Wales. We will not only lose hundreds of jobs but we will also lose the facilities provided by the plant itself - which include slaughtering, boning and retail packaging which all add value to the final product. Local assembly member Ieuan Wyn Jones said he would be raising the matter with the Welsh government. We must do everything we can to try to keep these jobs, and our immediate priority is to try to sell the business as a going concern. Mr Jones said he would also be meeting faming unions on the island. "The potential loss of this abattoir will be devastating for local farmers in north west Wales... this may well have an impact on prices as competition will be reduces," he added.