In a company statement, the firm said: “The move is in response to the loss of a number of significant and long-standing contracts on the packaging side of the business. It is due to on-going uncertainty surrounding the timescales and plans for investment in a new brewery.”
The company said it was in talks with union representatives and the workforce about ways to retrain its employees to create “a more flexible and skilled workforce for the future”.
Thwaites said it hoped to minimise job losses through redeployment of employees and a voluntary redundancy programme.
‘Tough times’
Steve Magnall, md of Thwaites Beer Co said: “These continue to be incredibly tough times and, as a result, we are forced to look at how we respond to market conditions.
“Our commitment, as we have previously said, is to create a sustainable business for the future and provide sustainable employment locally.
“This restructuring allows us to retrain a number of our employees to build a more skilled and flexible team for the future and enables us to continue to play a part in the canning market.
“We will continue to invest in our brands, our people and our pub portfolio and are taking these difficult steps to not only remain competitive, but also to put ourselves in the strongest possible position to grow and develop our business.”