The closure of a Nestle factory in Newcastle and a loss of almost 500 jobs “could not have come at a worse time”, a city MP has warned.
It emerged last week that the global sweets giant had rejected unions’ pleas to keep its site in Fawdon open, having first announced last year that it intended to shut the facility in 2023.
Around 475 jobs are expected to be lost with the closure of the former Rowntree plant, which makes popular treats including Rolos, Fruit Pastilles, and Toffee Crisps.
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Newcastle North MP Catherine McKinnell said the decision would have a “huge effect” on both staff and the wider community, having been a major source of employment in Newcastle since the 1950s.
The Labour MP added: "While the factory will remain open until 2023, this news could not have come at a worse time – we are still recovering from the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and people are facing a cost of living crisis.
"Many will be questioning why Nestlé, as the world’s largest food company, needs to close a profitable factory and offshore jobs away from an area of the country that needs to be levelled up, not down, in order to remain competitive.
"Since news of the potential closure emerged, I have met with Nestle, and with the GMB and Unite unions. I know the unions remain in discussion with Nestlé to negotiate for potential jobs at alternative sites and enhanced packages for those who will be made redundant. I will also be raising these issues with the Government who have made bold promises about levelling up our communities in the North, yet this will achieve the opposite.”
The factory first opened in 1958 and also makes confectionery like Munchies and Caramac.
Production is being shifted to other Nestle plants in the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria, as well as to Halifax in West Yorkshire.
Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes called the closure a “major blow, especially when we need every job to help us recover from the pandemic” and a “break with our heritage”.
He said: “My heart goes out to all those workers who will be facing redundancy when so many are already struggling with a cost of living crisis.
“The council is committed to doing all that it can to support the workforce, and if it comes to closure, help to source re-training for the employees and try to find an alternative employer for that site to bring fresh investment and new employment opportunities.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and be ready to act.”
Lib Dem councillor Nick Cott called it “dreadful news” and warned there would be a “heavy toll” on the Fawdon community as a result.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We are incredibly disappointed. This is a factory that has been here since the 1950s and it is very sad news, the end of an era.”
A Nestle spokesman said last week: “The consultation around the changes we proposed in April 2021 is still ongoing.
“We said from the outset that we wanted to provide adequate time and space for these discussions and it is only right that they are held directly with our employees and trade unions and not in public. It remains a priority to support our people and their families through this process and we thank everybody for their patience.
“We will provide an update once the consultation is complete.”
