More than 400 jobs at a pig meat factory in north Antrim are under threat following a weekend fire which destroyed the premises.
Employees at the Lovell and Christmas factory in Bally money turned up for work yesterday morning, but were sent home and told that further information would be available later this week.
The Rev Ian Paisley, who is MP for the area, described it as "a tragic blow to the whole agriculture industry in Northern Ireland".
Ms Cathy Cuddihy, corporate affairs manager for Unigate, said the 400 employees would receive their full earnings for this week and that decisions about the future of the factory were still to be made.