Weetabix looks to consolidate Corby factories
The cereal maker said that as part of a “long-term investment strategy”, proposals were in place to upgrade its hot oat cereal, flake and extruded product lines at Corby into a single factory.
A company spokesman said while proposals were at an early stage, they could result in the loss of “small number” of roles. He added that Weetabix was evaluating options with employees to minimise any potential impact.
The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) confirmed it was in consultation talks with the company about the possible closure of the Earlstrees Road factory, known as Weetabix One.
No compulsory redundancy hopes
However, the union remained hopeful that there would be no compulsory redundancies.
“Weetabix Two is expanding and bringing with it more jobs,” a Usdaw spokesman said. “It could result in some redundancies, but there is the possibility of some transfer of workers.”
The investment into the site would help Weetabix meet its increased demand for products and support long-term growth, the company spokesman said.
“As and when a decision is taken, we will work closely with our customers and suppliers to keep them updated and avoid any disruption during the upgrade works,” he added.
Weetabix, which also has sites in nearby Burton Latimer and Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, was bought by US firm Post Holdings for £1.4bn from Shanghai-based Bright Food in April 2017.
Managerial changes
There have been a raft of managerial changes at the company’s UK operation this year.
Last month, Stuart Benham was appointed head of HR operations after five years at PepsiCo.
In May, Stuart White was promoted to head of innovation for UK and Ireland, from his previous role of head of brand at Alpen.
Meanwhile, in February, Colm O’Dwyer was appointed commercial director for the UK and Ireland.
