Dublin-based Greencore has responded to an article in yesterday's Daily Mail, which claimed that the convenience foods giant was sourcing employees from Hungary for its facility in Northampton, in order to account for a shortfall in applicants from the UK.
The Mail's cover story, 'Is There No-One Left In Britain Who Can Make A Sandwich?' suggested that low unemployment rates in Northampton mean that the sandwich maker has had to turn to Eastern Europe to find suitable workers.
Checkout followed up on this story by contacting the Greencore communications department to inquire whether a) Greencore had considered sourcing employees from Ireland, given that it is an Irish-resident company and b) whether Greencore should have considered locating its facility in Ireland, where it currently holds unused property assets.
While a spokesperson for Greencore did not answer our questions directly, the company did issue the following statement.
"Greencore employs around 1,100 colleagues in Northampton, and is currently looking to recruit a number of new staff. We have already started a range of recruitment initiatives locally and have been pleased with the response.
"However, we will also be considering applicants from further afield, including Hungary, and will be conducting interviews with suitable candidates in due course. We are extremely proud of the diversity of our workforce and, as always, will be hiring on a strict equal opportunities basis."
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
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