Jobs saved at Kellogg’s Wrexham, but 100 staff to go

The firm announced in January​ that it feared it would have to axe roughly 140 jobs at the plant, which makes cereals such as Bran Flakes and Special K, as part of a global business restructure.

However, following a 90-day consultation process, it confirmed that it had been able to reduce the losses, and did not now anticipate any compulsory cuts.

As a result of negotiations, 105 workers on hourly pay have opted to take voluntary redundancy or early retirement. The company plans to recruit 26 staff to replace those not choosing redundancy.

Further consultation period​

In addition, after a further consultation period with permanent salaried employees, Kellogg said it expected that up to 20 more roles could be affected.

“In total, we expect to have just under 100 fewer roles in our Wrexham manufacturing facility at the end of the consultation,”​ the company claimed in a statement.

The decision had been made to secure the site’s long-term competitiveness, it said.

Victory​

Trades union Usdaw, which, together with Unite, has been involved in the discussions throughout, has hailed the outcome as a victory.

“Although this has been a challenging time for our members, we are pleased that through effective consultation and good industrial relations, we have been able to significantly reduce the proposed job losses,”​ said Dave Gill, Usdaw national officer representing Kellogg’s workers.

“We believe the Wrexham plant is now set up for the future in the best possible way. Our priority was to save jobs, maximise employment on the site and ensure that if any staff have to leave they do so on a voluntary or early retirement basis. We have gone a long way towards achieving that.”​