Bitter sweet as hundreds of jobs go at Nestlé amidst new investment

Nestlé has confirmed plans to cut almost 600 jobs and close a confectionery factory.

The company says it intends to shut down its site in Fawdon, Newcastle, by the end of 2023 and concentrate production on bases in York and Halifax. It said 573 jobs would be “put at risk”.

The GMB and Unite unions say a total of 475 jobs would be lost at Fawdon, where Fruit Pastilles are made, along with 98 at the York factory, which makes KitKat bars.

Nestlé explains it will be investing £20m into the York facility to boost production of KitKats. And it says it will spend about £9.2m in Halifax to “take on the largest portion of Fawdon’s current production”.

A Nestlé spokesman said: “We believe the business case behind these proposed changes is compelling and, ultimately, the best way to keep our business competitive in the long term.”

With a statement from the company adding: “Our Fawdon factory is home to many smaller, low-growth brands and maintains a diverse and complex mix of production techniques. In contrast, our factories at York and Halifax have clearer specialisms and manufacture some of Nestlé’s biggest brands.

“If these proposals go ahead, we would expect, in future, to be manufacturing a higher volume of products overall while operating a smaller number of fact

“We believe these proposals would strengthen the UK’s position as a critically important hub for Nestlé Confectionery and home to the expert manufacture of many of our most popular brands including KitKat, Aero and Quality Street.”

But Ross Murdoch, GMB national officer, responded: “To ruin hundreds of lives in a ruthless pursuit of profits, to the very workers who’ve kept the company going during a global pandemic, is sickening.

“Nestlé is the largest food producer in the world, with astronomical profits. It can afford to treat workers right.”

Joe Clarke, Unite national officer for the food and drink industry, said: “The news about Nestlé’s plans for its respective sites in Newcastle and York is a cruel body blow to the dedicated workforces, their families and, more widely, the regional economies.

“We will be asking for an urgent meeting with the management to ascertain the business rationale for these decisions from a multi-national company which is highly profitable.”