WEST LOTHIAN, Scotland – VION UK announced it would close its Hall’s of Broxburn meat processing plant after rejecting two last-minute offers to save the facility and 1,700 jobs.

VION Food Group bought the facility in August 2008 as part of its acquisition of Grampian Country Food Group. The company made significant investments in the plant in an effort to return the business to profitability, but despite the "tens of millions of pounds" VION invested in Hall’s the facility continued to record unsustainable losses.

Peter Barr, VION UK chairman, said that neither offer was a viable and sustainable alternative to closing the plant. He added that none of the offers guaranteed ongoing employment for the workers, although the company was prepared to offer financial assistance to support an acquisition.

VION UK is a business arm of VION N.V. based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. VION UK produces and processes, beef, lamb, pork, bacon and chicken. The company also makes sausages, cooked meats and value-added chicken products.