Kerry Group has started a consultation process with staff at a food ingredients site in the UK over plans to potentially close the facility.
Employees at the plant in Okehampton in Devon were informed on Friday that a review process is under way. Full consultation with the 100 employees started on Monday.
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A spokesperson for Kerry Group told just-food today (30 June) that the decision to potentially close the site, which makes fruit used in confectionery and branded cereals, is based on the firm’s growth plans.
“We have a relatively small site in Okehampton, which is restricted in its size and its scope for future development and we have a larger site in Tenbury Wells, Shropshire which has good scope for development,” the spokesperson said. “This review process is based around our future growth and investment plans and where this investment can take place.”
If closed, the site’s production would move to the Kerry Ingredients factory in Tenbury Wells, Shropshire. Kerry Group has insisted that employees at Okehamptoon will have the opportunity to transfer to the Shropshire site.
“We have begun formal consultation with the employees and if the decision at the end of that process is to close the Okehampton site then production will transfer to Tenbury Wells, which would mean that around 100 jobs based in Devon,” the spokesperson said. “We have already indicated to employees that there would be re-deployment opportunities for them to transfer to Tenbury Wells and there would also be financial assistance to help them with their relocation. But as I say, no decision has been made yet until the formal consultation is complete.”
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By GlobalDataA decision is expected to be made at the end of the 90-day consultation.
“It’s about our future growth and investment in this business,” the spokesperson added. “Obviously we are a growth business and have identified strategic growth opportunities which will require future investment, so the review is based around where that investment will take place.”
Yesterday, Kerry Group lifted its target for volume growth from 2013 as the company set out its forecasts for its next five-year cycle. At an analyst update in London, the set out a target for its annual like-for-like volumes to rise 3% to 5% between 2013 and 2017.
