Edinburgh biscuit jobs secured as Burton's puts £7m on table

• The Burton's biscuit factory in Sighthill, Edinburgh

But the boost for the Scottish plant came as the firm called time on its Moreton factory, on the Wirral, with the loss of 342 posts and the axing of a further 70 jobs at its site in Llantarnam, near Newport in South Wales.

Burton's - whose product line-up includes Jammie Dodgers, Maryland Cookies and Wagon Wheels - said it would spend 7m to give its sites in Edinburgh and Llantarnam "world class chocolate biscuit manufacturing capability".

About 5m of the investment will be at Edinburgh's Sighthill plant, which employs more than 600 permanent staff and about 250 agency workers.

The cash injection forms part of a new 25m three-year capital spending programme to "build production capabilities".

Burton's said the investment would allow it to retain the manufacture of the vast majority of its products in the UK.

Chief executive Ben Clarke told The Scotsman: "This investment in Edinburgh is all about bringing more of the production of our Cadbury biscuits to the factory.

"Cadbury is our biggest-selling range of branded products and accounted for 130m of our 350m turnover last year.

"We will also install robotic packing equipment but I don't expect that to result in any job losses in Edinburgh."

Clarke said the equipment being installed in Edinburgh - which already makes some Cadbury's biscuits including the Animals range, alongside its shortbread production - will wrap biscuits in chocolate.

The company - which turned a profit of "between 25m and 30m" last year - said it would continue to produce 99 per cent of its biscuits in the UK.

The restructuring programme follows a review by Burton's of its manufacturing facilities.

David McLetchie, MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, said he had met the group's management and the GMB trade union as part of the company's review.

He said Scottish Enterprise had also made the case for keeping open the company's factory in the Scottish capital.

McLetchie said: "This is great news for the Sighthill workers as well as a huge relief because when Burton's announced this review of its facilities back in October there was a distinct possibility that Sighthill could be closed or seriously run down."

Clarke said the company had talked to Scottish Enterprise about regional selective assistant grants but had not accepted any money to date, nor had the discussions influenced his decision.

Trade unions south of the Border reacted with anger to the job losses on Merseyside and in South Wales, saying workers were "devastated" by the news.