McVitie’s biscuits: Glasgow factory closure puts 500 jobs at risk

The owner of UK brands including McVitie’s has announced plans to close its factory in the east end of Glasgow, putting nearly 500 jobs at risk.

Pladis has put forward proposals to close its Tollcross site, subject to a “full and meaningful consultation with employees”.

The move would put 468 roles at risk of redundancy with the global snack firm highlighting “excess capacity” across its UK sites.

Under the plans, the Glasgow operation would cease in the second half of 2022 with production moved to other factories.

David Murray, Pladis UK and Ireland managing director, announced the consultation to employees at meetings on Tuesday.

He said: “We know this news will be difficult for our colleagues at Tollcross. Our priority now is to provide them with the support they need during the consultation process.

“Pladis is home to some of Britain’s best loved brands which have been part of the fabric of our society for nearly 200 years.

“In order to protect them for generations to come, we must take steps to address excess capacity in the UK.

“This overcapacity limits our ability to make the right investments in future capabilities to meet the very big changes in our industry.”

As well as McVitie’s , Pladis owns Ulker, Godiva and regional brands such as Jacob’s, Go Ahead and Carr’s.

Glasgow East MP David Linden said: “Today’s news comes as a total body blow to our community.

The move would put 468 roles at risk of redundancy with the global snack firm highlighting “excess capacity” across its UK sites.

“Above all, it’s a massive kick in the teeth to the loyal workforce at Tollcross – many of whom have worked there for decades.

“Since 2017, I’ve been engaging with Pladis around the challenges they face as a business and I was genuinely encouraged to learn that things had started to turn a corner.

“Therefore, news of proposed closure comes as something of a bolt out of the blue.

“My sole focus right now is on engaging with Pladis, local and national Government, as well as the trade unions.

“This is a deeply worrying time for everyone associated with the factory at Tollcross and no stone must be left unturned as we fight to protect local jobs.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.