West Lothian Council has described the news of the closure of Vion’s Halls of Broxburn plant as a "devastating blow".

The closure of the meat processing factory will mean the loss of 1,700 jobs.

The council says it has explored "every avenue" throughout the 90-day consultation with the aim of saving jobs at the plant.

Leader of West Lothian Council John McGinty commented: "We are deeply disappointed in the decision by Vion. We see this as a betrayal of the hard-working and loyal workforce. The Taskforce provided every opportunity to the company to discuss and explore the options, including an attractive public sector offer which would have led to significant investment at the plant in Broxburn.

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"It is difficult to overstate the likely devastating impact of the closure of Hall's on individual employees, their families and communities, and it is made worse by the current economic conditions."

Mr McGinty said a Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) team had been working to find a solution to the plant’s closure, and that a team had been set up at Strathbrock Partnership Centre which includes council advisers from access2employment, the Advice Shop, Housing, and Business Gateway.

He said: "Our priority is to help West Lothian to recover from the impact of the job losses and the economic impact on the community. I have written to the Scottish Government highlighting the likely effect on West Lothian and calling for additional support.

"I welcome the news that the Taskforce will continue to work with the company to find a buyer for the site, and that it will draw up a recovery plan to address the issues."

(IT)