Dunfermline has been dealt a jobs blow with the loss of 250 posts at its Somerfield distribution depot.
The depot at Pitreavie Business Park will shut its doors next April, with employees having the opportunity to transfer to another site or take a redundancy package.
The decision will be a bitter pill to swallow for the workforce, after 15 people lost their jobs at the same site in October.
The depot is operated by Wincanton and lorries leave the site to deliver goods to Somerfield stores across the country.
Somerfield was taken over by the Co-op group and last night a spokesman for the company confirmed that talks would take place with the 250 workers at the Dunfermline site.
He said, “Following the Co-operative Group’s acquisition of the Somerfield business, the company is carrying out a full strategic review of its distribution network, to ensure it can continue to provide a first-class delivery service to Co-operative and Somerfield stores throughout Scotland.
“As a result, Somerfield’s logistics partner, Wincanton, is proposing to close its distribution depot at Pitreavie, near Dunfermline, with operations transferring to the Co-operative’s new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) at Newhouse, North Lanarkshire.
“Wincanton is now entering a period of consultation with trade unions and with the 250 employees at the site.
“Should the proposals go ahead, operations at Pitreavie will be scaled down early in 2011, with the depot likely to close in April.
“Employees at Pitreavie will have the opportunity to transfer to the new RDC at Newhouse as Co-operative employees or to accept a redundancy package.Exemplary”Both the Co-operative and Wincanton wish to make it clear that this in no way reflects the commitment and hard work of staff at Pitreavie, whose performance has been exemplary.”
John Park, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said he was “really disappointed” at the announcement and that he has had talks, with more planned, with union members at the Dunfermline site.
“A lot of these jobs are people working in warehouses and they live in the Dunfermline area,” he said.
“The company have a moral obligation and hopefully the company will do all in their powers to support the workforce and redevelop the site and not leave it an empty building at Pitreavie, where there has been a lot of companies shutting recently.”