Glasgow McVitie's factory: Bid to save threatened factory with 'compelling proposal'

A "compelling proposal" to secure the future of the closure-threatened McVitie's biscuit factory in Glasgow will be made to the owners of the site.

Nearly 500 jobs are at risk at the Tollcross factory, which opened nearly 100 years ago and makes biscuits like Hobnobs and Rich Tea.

Parent company, Turkish-owned Pladis, has blamed "excess capacity" at its UK sites and plans to shutter the Glasgow factory in the second half of 2022 and move production elsewhere.

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to do "everything we possibly can" to save the factory.

Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government will do all that it can to save the factory.Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government will do all that it can to save the factory.
Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish Government will do all that it can to save the factory.

A fresh bid to save the site will be made by an "action group" on Tuesday made up of union chiefs, politicians and business people, which would see a new factory built on a nearby site.

Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken said: "This proposal is compelling and would secure a future for Pladis in the city. I trust they will give it the consideration it deserves."

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Economy Secretary Kate Forbes said: "I would hope and expect the senior management at Pladis to now study the proposals carefully, and to engage with the action group in a constructive and thorough manner."

Pladis, which last month started issuing redundancy notices, has been contacted for comment.

Unite industrial officer Pat McIlvogue said: "We believe that the proposal put forward to build a new factory on a nearby site will produce efficiency savings and make this one of the most advanced biscuit manufacturing sites in the UK.

"Unite is asking that Pladis study and positively engage with us on this proposal because we believe that everyone can win from this, most importantly the hundreds of jobs at stake in the local community."

GMB Scotland organiser David Hume said: "We believe the proposal offers Pladis everything it needs to maintain manufacturing in the East End of Glasgow for the next generation, ensuring employment and opportunity for the local community that depends on it."

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Pladis acquired McVitie's in 2014 after taking over United Biscuits.

The same year it cut the then 680-strong workforce by nearly a quarter, unions said, but the factory remains a "major employer in an area with higher levels of social deprivation and unemployment".

McVitie's traces its roots to the original Scottish biscuit maker, McVitie & Price Ltd, established in 1830 in Edinburgh.

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