The long-established business, founded in 1974, is known for supplying premium meat products to both restaurant clients and customers across the UK through its online platform. The firm has been a significant employer in the area for decades and is understood to be placing around 120 roles into a collective consultation process lasting 45 days.
The company has been grappling with mounting pressures, including volatility in meat prices, rising energy costs and the wider increase in the cost of doing business, which have combined to place severe strain on its operations. It has indicated it will explore all viable options during the consultation period, including a potential sale, while also preparing for the possibility of closure and committing to support affected staff.
The latest announcement follows the closure of Donald Russell’s cold storage distribution centre in Kintore last year, which resulted in about 70 job losses.
Gordon and Buchan MP Harriet Cross said: “This announcement will be deeply concerning for our meat industry, both in the North East, and across Scotland.
“The closure of Donald Russell would be devastating for the business, their staff, the supply chains and farmers who have all relied on the business for more than 50 years.
“This is the latest blow within the sector to hit Inverurie following the closure of Scotbeef last year and underlines the intolerable pressures that our food and agricultural industry is facing.
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“The likes of Donald Russell are being driven out of business by rising costs, regulatory pressures, volatility in meat prices and barriers to domestic farming that are all contributing to the loss of a key pillar of our food security.
“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.
“If both governments at Holyrood and Westminster are serious about rural jobs, our food security, and the importance of UK farming, then more support needs to be given to butchers so they can survive these unprecedented challenges.”
