28 jobs to face axe at Warburtons bakery (From The Bolton News)

28 jobs to face axe at Warburtons bakery

9:04am Thursday 28th February 2013 in News

WARBURTONS has announced 28 jobs are under threat at one of its Bolton bakeries because of a fall in bread sales and the introduction of new machinery.

The bakery firm has launched a 30-day consultation period with 111 staff at its Britannia Way bakery in The Valley.

Managers broke the news to staff on Tuesday evening.

The site, also known as the Variety Bakery, was opened in 1999 as Warburtons’ second bakery in Bolton, along with its main one at Hereford Street.

The planned Bolton job losses come after Warburtons axed 55 jobs with the closure of its Blackpool bakery last month.

Chief exuctive Jonathan Warburton said the “proposed changes” would make manufacturing “more efficient and flexible to help better meet the ever-changing demands of our customers across the UK”.

He added: “Making tough decisions like this, which have a big impact on people’s lives, is not easy for a family business to make. But we must act as a responsible business and be prepared to take these tough decisions, at the right time, so we can ensure Warburtons remains competitive and has a successful future.

“We appreciate how tough a period this is for our employees and we will work closely with them and their representatives to discuss our proposal and explore all options.”

Unions will hold a meeting at the bakery on Saturday to discuss how they will approach the consultations and look at the details of the announcement.

Geoff Atkinson, of the Bakers, Food and Allied workers’ Union said: “The union and the bakery staff are very disappointed at this announcement. I was at the meeting with shop stewards when the announcement was made.”

Last year, Chancellor George Osborne visited the firm’s new £39 million Hereford Street bakery, which he hailed as a vote of confidence in the business. The new energy-efficient bakery can produce up to 9,000 loaves an hour.

In 2010, Warburtons announced 121 of the 477 jobs at the main Bolton bakery were under threat, but the number was reduced with 45 going through voluntary redundancy or early retirement.

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