Bernard Matthews laid off 130 employees on 20 February, after the company experienced a 40% drop in turkey sales.

A spokesperson for Bernard Matthews confirmed that further layoffs of between 400-500 employees “could not be ruled out” if future sales remained the same or continued to fall.

Bernard Matthews held a meeting with the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) on 19 February to discuss the impact of the H5N1 avian flu outbreak at its turkey factory in Holton, Suffolk, and to agree upon the layoff proposal.

“This was a very difficult decision to make but under the current circumstances it was the only option available following the drop in product sales.  We are also doing everything we can to limit the number of job losses and we are working hard to restore consumer confidence,” said a Bernard Matthews spokesperson.
 
Bernard Matthews and TGWU will review the situation “regularly”.