Nestle are planning to axe almost 600 jobs in the UK with the closure of factory and some of the products will be switched to Europe.
The confectionery giant who are Swiss owned are proposing to close their Fawdon site in Newcastle upon Tyne at the end of 2023.
There will be a loss of around 475 jobs and a further 98 job cuts in York as they are proposing to make changes to their confectionery manufacturing for the future.
Nestle will make £29.4m investments in their York and Halifax factories which are intended to “support the long term success.”
The company said, “Nestle Confectionery has an ambitious business strategy in the UK and these proposals are intended to support our long-term success in an increasingly competitive category.
“The proposed changes would create a more efficient manufacturing footprint and, in turn, allow greater strategic investment in Nestle’s biggest confectionery brands.
“We have chosen to announce these proposals as early as possible to provide the maximum time for consultation with our colleagues and trade unions.”
The GMB union said it is “sickening” that lives are being “ruined in a ruthless pursuit of profits.”
GMB national officer Ross Murdoch said, “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.
“Nestle is the largest food producer in the world, with astronomical profits. It can afford to treat workers right.
“Instead, they’ve allowed factories to deteriorate, outsourced production overseas and now slash almost 600 jobs.”
Nestle said in a statement said, “The decision to propose Fawdon’s closure follows significant investment and a sustained effort by the factory team to reduce that complexity and introduce new products in recent years.
“The skilled and dedicated team at Fawdon have worked tirelessly to deliver those changes and these proposals are absolutely no reflection on their efforts.
“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 factories.
“We do not under-estimate the impact that the closure of the Fawdon factory would have on the local area and, as part of the consultation, we want to work with the local community to find ways that we can support the area and our employees if these proposals were to go ahead.
“We believe these proposals would strengthen the UK’s position as a critically important hub for Nestle confectionery and home to the expert manufacture of many of our most popular brands including KitKat, Aero and Quality Street.”