£6 Million For Paper Firm Task Force
A taskforce set up after a Fife paper-making firm went into administration with hundreds of job losses is to receive £6 million from the Scottish Government.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the establishment of the Joint Taskforce for Fife after Tullis Russell Papermakers, based at Markinch, called in administrators yesterday.
A total of 325 employees were made redundant, with a further 149 jobs at risk.
The company had experienced a long-term decline in its market and cumulative losses of £18.5 million over the last five years.
The taskforce will work with joint administrators Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG to try to find an alternative owner for the plant and provide support for workers to help them back into new jobs and training.
It will be co-chaired by the Scottish Government and Fife Council, with a first meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Speaking before a visit to the Tullis Russell plant, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: "This is a very anxious time for the workers at Tullis Russell, their families and indeed the wider community across Fife.
"Particularly in a small town the size of Markinch, the potential impact of these job losses cannot be underestimated.
"We are, therefore, making an immediate and initial financial investment of £6 million to support the work of the Fife taskforce.
"This money will provide additional support for skills development, training and support for local businesses.
"We will work with Fife Council to ensure these additional resources complement existing activity and support economic growth in this part of Fife.
"It will help support the creation of new jobs and especially to help with skills retraining to ensure the Tullis Russell staff who have lost their jobs are in the best possible position to move quickly in to new positions.''
Fife Council leader David Ross added: "As you would expect, Fife Council is already mobilising to get this taskforce up and running this week to help mitigate the impact that yesterday's devastating news is having on local families in Fife.
"This initial investment of £6 million is welcome start and will go some way to helping regenerate the area and begin the process of creating more jobs for local people.
"However, undoubtedly more investment will be needed to make sure Fife's economy continues to thrive.''