Northern Foods to close down Trafford Park Bakery, 690 to lose jobs |
|
|
Published
:
Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:15
|
LONDON: Northern Foods Plc. is set to close down its Trafford Park bakery in Manchester, which will lead to some 690 job losses. The company, makers of Fox's biscuits and Goodfella's pizzas, is on a cost-cutting exercise and intends to focus on businesses where it has a competitive edge.
A statement issued by the company said the decision to close down the unit is part of its strategy announced in May to complete a phased closure of the bakery by December. It will take a one-off charge of around 12 million pounds in the first half of the current fiscal for the closure, although this may be partly offset by future proceeds from asset sales.
The company had said earlier it is cutting down its staff by 45 per cent and selling units worth 200 million pounds in order to confine its focus on five core areas -- pizzas, biscuits, ready meals, sandwiches and Christmas puddings. It had acquired Trafford Park plant, which makes chilled savoury pastries, in 1991. In 2005-06 the unit had losses of over 3 million pounds before interest and tax.
Northern Foods said it will hold talks with its workers before the closure of the unit is confirmed.
The company had reported a second half loss of 19.4 million pounds compared with year-earlier earnings of 30.7 million pounds.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Print this Story
H1 sales up, but operating profits down at Northern Foods 