Vion, a Dutch food company, has asked its staff members in the UK not to speak to the media houses about the recent plans of the company to sell its operations in the country.

Vion operates abattoirs and processing plants on Anglesey, Sandycroft in Flintshire and other sites in Wrexham and Merthyr Tydfil. The company employees number 13,000 across 38 locations in the country. The company's St Merryn plant in Merthyr Tydfil is believed to be the largest meat processing and packing plant in the UK.

The company has expressed confidence that it will be able to sell its units as viable businesses. It said that the decision to sell the units is not an easy one but is essential for the firm. It already announced the closure of a meat processing plant in Scotland with the loss of 1,700 jobs.

Vion said that the selling of units in the UK will allow the company to focus on core markets of the Netherlands and Germany and it will also allow the firm to concentrate on its global ingredients business.

A Vion spokesman said, "We will not be elaborating on yesterday's statement. The sales process has started and things will be progressing in terms of a sale."