Bakers union vows to fight for Greggs jobs

Bakers union BFAWU vowed yesterday to “do everything within our power to fight for and protect jobs” after Greggs announced plans to axe four factories and 740 posts.

The plan to close manufacturing sites at Enfield Greater London, North Lakes near Penrith Cumbria, Pettigrews in Kelso, Scotland, Seaham, County Durham and Treforest in Wales, came despite figures showing sales at the high street bakery chain had grown by 7.7 per cent over the last three months.

Further cuts will also be seen to the range of goods produced at Clydesmill in Glasgow, Manchester, and Gosforth.

Announcing the cuts, Greggs chief executive Roisin Currie said:

To continue building a successful business for the future, we must keep evolving alongside changing customer expectations.

We want to ensure that Greggs remains a strong, sustainable business for decades to come.

Greggs manufacturing and logistics network remains a key strength of the business, and these proposals are intended to strengthen our manufacturing network, improve efficiency and ensure we remain well placed for the future while continuing to deliver the quality, value and service our customers expect.

But BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley challenged the logic behind axing the very workers who had delivered the company’s profit. She said:

Greggs is clear in its own announcement that the business continues to perform strongly, that more customers are choosing Greggs than ever before, and that it is investing significantly to support further growth.

Against that backdrop, our members will understandably be asking why their jobs and livelihoods should now be put at risk in the name of efficiency and future progression.

The workers affected by these proposals have played a huge part in getting Greggs to where it is today. They cannot simply be dropped like stones.”

We recognise that Greggs has stated that no final decisions have been made and that a consultation process will now take place.

We will do everything within our power to fight for and protect jobs. These are not numbers on a spreadsheet.

These are people with mortgages and rents to pay, families to support and years, in many cases decades, of service to Greggs.

Growth and investment should provide greater security and opportunity for the workforce that helped create that success, not leave those workers wondering whether they still have a future in the business.

This article was first published in the Morning Star. We thanks them for their kind permission to reproduce it here.