A major food supplier has gone into administration, leaving hundreds without jobs and redundancy pay. 

Orchard House Foods, which is based in Northamptonshire, with a plant in Gateshead, Tyneside, went into administration yesterday (Tuesday 10). 

This move leaves hundreds of people, both in Gateshead and in Corby, where the company is headquartered, without employment. 

The firm branded the current "extremely challenging economic and trading condition" the cause of the "difficult decision" to call in administrators. 

Read more: Orchard House Foods to close Gateshead site with loss of 430 jobs

Orchard House Foods provides prepared fruit, juices, smoothies and yoghurts to many corporate customers, including Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Pret A Manger. 

In August, the company announced that its Gateshead plant would shut down in the coming months, with work relocated to Northamptonshire. 

Orchard House Foods closed its Gateshead location in December, and have thus far failed to pay their 430 North East based worked redundancy. This has led to calls from local MPs and the Bakers Union for the company to issue payouts, as former employees are left "desolate".  

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Workers from Orchard House Foods' Gateshead factory had originally hoped to receive redundancy payments before Christmas but were told via email that they would not receive pay until January, as there were various factors that were having a "significant financial impact on the business" making payment impossible.

One former employee said: "People are on the breadline now, waiting for their money. This has left employees desolate, with no money for two months."

In a statement, a spokesperson from the company said: "For our former employees at Gateshead, once an administrator is appointed, they will be able to claim any outstanding monies owed, including the delayed redundancy payments, via [the Government's] Insolvency Service. We expect this to happen as soon as the administrator has been appointed and we will be providing them with additional support to help with their claims."