Scotbeef shuts historic Inverurie abattoir
The owners have cited 'sustained challenges' to the business.
They said the closure was necessary to protect the long-term future of Scotbeef.
Staff were reportedly told to go home today, with farmers being told their livestock was no longer required.
Scotbeef is a subsidiary of East Kilbride-based JW Galloway.
Its processing sites manufacture fresh beef, lamb and value-added products for leading UK and international retail markets.
Scotbeef also has facilities at two other Scottish locations – East Kilbride and Annan – as well as operations south of the border in Sheffield, Heysham and Wolverhampton.
Other sites in Bridge of Allan and Glasgow have been sold by the firm in recent years.
It is not known yet how many staff are impacted by the closure in Inverurie, where there has been an abattoir on North Street for about 100 years.
Neither Scotbeef nor JW Galloway have responded to our calls.
The move follows a steep decline in processing activity at the Aberdeenshire site.
In recent times just a few hundred cattle have been processed there some weeks, a fraction of the total capacity.
Industry insiders have blamed a price war between processors for putting Scottish abattoirs under severe pressure.
In accounts lodged at Companies House earlier this year, Scotbeef said it was facing labour shortages and industry pay rate challenges.
Plans for a replacement abattoir in the area have been on hold for years.
In 2023, Aberdeenshire councillors backed plans to demolish the existing abattoir to make way for 50 new homes.
A previous proposal to build 77 homes on the site was given the go-ahead back in 2019.
Now, closure for the existing site would appear to scupper any prospect of the abattoir being relocated to ANM Group's Thainstone Business Park, as was previously proposed.
Gordon and Buchan Conservative MP Harriet Cross said: 'This closure is deeply concerning and is a blow to livestock farmers across the north-east. Abattoirs such as that in Inverurie are crucial to the food supply chain and the wider agricultural sector.
'But across the country, they are being driven out of business at an alarming rate by rising costs, regulatory pressures and a drop in livestock numbers.
'There is also an immediate human impact of all this, and my thoughts go out to the employees at Inverurie whose jobs are at risk.'
The MP added: 'If both of Scotland's governments are serious about sustainability, rural jobs, and animal welfare, then more support needs to be given to abattoirs so they can survive these unprecedented challenges.'
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