Jobs at risk at sweet manufacturer’s factory

UK Sweet manufacturer Haribo intends to axe jobs at one of its factories in West Yorkshire.

The German-owned firm employs more than 700 people at sites in Castleford and Pontefract, but has not yet confirmed how many jobs could go.

But a local councillor quoted by the BBC said he understood about 200 people could be made redundant at the Pontefract site.

Haribo said it faces an increasingly competitive market and rising costs and has begun consultations.

Tom Gordon, a councillor for Wakefield Council, said he understood employees were told about possible job losses at the end of last week.

“A number of residents have already been in touch and are deeply worried about what this means for them and their families,” he added.

Haribo’s UK managing director Jon Hughes said the decision was meant to defend the company’s long-term future in Yorkshire.

He said: “The UK has become a manufacturing centre of excellence in the global Haribo network.

“But to protect this position, we must respond to significant rising costs and the demands of a highly competitive market.”