Marine Collagen lays off all employees in Grindavík amid facility damage

All employees of Marine Collagen in Grindavík have been laid off due to the suspension of operations. The company’s manager remains in her position and hopes to relocate the business to new premises.

Marine Collagen is an innovative company that has been producing gelatin and collagen from fish skin since it began operations three years ago in Grindavík. However, production has been halted since November 10 due to significant damage to its equipment caused by earthquakes that affected the area.

The state of the facility is reportedly poor, with a fissure running through the property, the entranceway damaged, and electric connections severed. Although hot water was restored a few weeks ago, the building is tilting by about 15 centimeters. The company is currently waiting for a final assessment from the Icelandic Natural Disaster Insurance concerning the condition of the premises. The insured value of the building is approximately 500 million ISK, and until this assessment is complete, expensive relocation decisions cannot be made.

The company has applied for operational support from the government, but this assistance will expire in August. Consequently, all staff members, except for the manager, have been dismissed. The manager mentioned that it remains uncertain whether the laid-off employees have found new jobs.

She expressed disappointment over the situation and emphasized the significance of the expertise developed over the past decade in their innovative work. As a relatively new company, she hopes that a viable path forward can be established once more information about the building conditions is available.