2 Sisters Food Group is suspending operations at its plant in Llangefni, Wales, for a two-week period because of health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company, headquartered in the U.K., announced that the poultry plant was idled on June 18, and the suspension of operations is expected to last 14 days.
While the company did not announce how many workers at the facility had tested positive for COVID-19. However, 2 Sisters Food Group consulted with Public Health Wales, Anglesey Council, the Health & Safety Executive, the U.K. Food Standards Agency and the Unite Union, and it was determined a pause in operations at the plant was the best course of action.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is ultimately the thing that matters most at our business. We are a responsible company with people at its core. Without our people we are nothing,” the company said in a statement.
“We will not tolerate any unnecessary risks – however small – for our existing loyal workforce at the facility. … Our sole focus now is to ensure we support all our colleagues through this time and look forward to operating safely and securely in 14 days’ time.”
2 Sisters Food Group, according to the Poultry International Top Companies survey, is the largest poultry producer in the United Kingdom. It ranks as the seventh largest poultry company in Europe and the 26th largest in the world.
2 Sisters Group is a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings. One of the 10 largest privately held companies in the U.K., 2 Sisters Food Group supplies about one-third of all poultry products consumed in the U.K.
In March, 2 Sisters Food Group Chief Executive Ronald Kers made a direct urgent appeal for new workers as the company deals with unprecedented demand brought on by the coronavirus pandemic in the U.K.
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