Greggs is to close a factory in north London and three more around the country as part of an overhaul of its food manufacturing operations, cutting around 740 jobs.
The high street bakery chain, which recently launched a Stilton bake, said the proposed changes will take place over the next two-and-a-half years. It plans to close its manufacturing sites at Enfield in north London, North Lakes near Penrith in Cumbria, Pettigrews in Kelso, Scotland, and Seaham, County Durham. It will continue to run distribution operations from Enfield.
Manufacturing consolidation
The proposals will also impact manufacturing operations at its Treforest site in Wales, but this will continue as a distribution centre for the business. Greggs also said it will reduce the range of products manufactured at its Clydesmill Glasgow and Manchester locations, as well as stopping the manufacturing of tinned bread at Gosforth.
It said this will consolidate its manufacturing operations, with the firm set to source a small number of products from specialist suppliers. Greggs retail shops, famous for their sausage rolls, will not be affected by the changes.
Costs and savings
The shake-up will cost the firm around £60 million, including disruption costs and redundancy payments. But it said the plans will save it around £20 million across the 2028 and 2029 financial years.
Greggs employs around 33,000 people across the UK, with the vast majority of these in stores. 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 Greggs remains a strong, sustainable business for decades to come.”
Union response and sales growth
But Sarah Woolley, general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, said: “The BFAWU is deeply concerned by today’s announcement from Greggs, which places hundreds of workers and their livelihoods at risk as part of proposed changes to the company’s manufacturing network. Our immediate priority is our members, their jobs, their families and the communities that could be affected by these proposals.”
The job cuts came as Greggs revealed that sales grew by 7.7% in the three months to September 26, compared with the same period a year earlier. Trading improved across the quarter as the company benefited from product launches and “more settled weather” in August and September. It said this represented progress in face of “challenging market conditions”, as consumer finances continue to come under pressure.
Greggs said it has opened 95 new shops and closed 38 in the year to date, taking its overall estate to 2,796 outlets.
