News / Shetland Catch loses quarter of its workforce
NORWEGIAN pelagic fish processor Pelagia has confirmed that 16 jobs will be lost at its Shetland Catch factory in Lerwick.
Speaking to Shetland News on Monday, Pelagia’s chief executive and Shetland Catch board chairman Egil Magne Haugstad said the number of permanent staff at the Lerwick plant have been reduced from 54 to 38 as the process of integrating with the Norwegian multinational continues.
Most of the jobs are being lost in the administration and sales departments. The remaining three sales representatives based in Lerwick will now also market products from within the whole Pelagia group.
After two years of heavy financial losses, which were partly due to the EU’s economic sanctions against Russia, Pelagia stepped in to secure the future of the Shetland Catch factory by increasing its share in the company to 75 per cent last December.
Now renamed Shetland Pelagia, the Lerwick plant is being integrated into the company’s multinational operation, which consists of 26 factories in Norway, Ireland, Denmark and the UK.
Haugstad said the company was very positive about the future of the Lerwick plant but in order to make it profitable again, the operation had to become smarter.
“It is a good idea when you run a business to have bigger income than cost, and it is no secret that Shetland Catch had serious challenges in meeting that condition,” he said.
“We don’t need all the resources at all locations. Doing things on a larger scale, one can do these more efficiently.
“We are also putting new business to Shetland; we should not just focus on job losses. We should focus on whether we can bring in activity that can be done in Lerwick more profitable and better than in other locations.
“We have just installed new equipment to take out roe from herring which is being fished very close to Shetland. That is a new activity.”
Haugstad added that by heavily investing in Shetland Catch, Pelgia had demonstrated its commitment towards the Lerwick facility.
“We went in with a large increase in capital to cover for some of their losses. So we are positive, but things will be done differently and we are always looking at the most efficient way to do the production,” he said.
Previous managing director Simon Leiper, meanwhile, continues to be employed by Pelagia. Based in Aberdeen, he is working on buying raw material from non-Norwegian vessels.
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