Dave Gill, Usdaw national officer representing Kellogg’s UK workers, announced that the union had embarked on a 90-day consultation on the proposals on January 17.
“We are saddened to hear of the proposal from Kellogg for 140 job losses at their Wrexham site, which is just over a quarter of the workforce,” Gill said on January 20.
“Usdaw representatives have been in meetings all of today to hear presentations from the management about their recently announced multi-year Project K global growth and efficiency programme, which includes a restructuring of the manufacturing network.
‘Priority to save jobs’
“Our priority will be 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.”
In a company statement, Chris Hood, president of Kellogg Europe, also said it aimed to limit compulsory redundancies at the plant, which makes brands including Special K and Bran Flakes, at the Bryn Lane industrial estate. “All available options will be carefully weighed up before any changes are implemented,” he stressed.
“We have a compelling business need to better align our assets with marketplace trends and customer requirements.
‘Taking action’
“To that end, we are taking action to ensure our manufacturing network is operating the right number of plants and production lines – in the right locations – to better meet current and future production needs and the evolving needs of our customers.”
Kellogg admitted plans in November last year to axe about 7% of its workforce – more than 2,000 people – by 2017 through a cost-cutting initiative it dubbed Project K.
In a conference call with analysts at the time, John Bryant, Kellogg Company’s president and chief executive officer, said the project would be a “pragmatic programme designed to be a catalyst for future growth”. He claimed it was “the right thing to do” for the company in the long term.