Unions have labelled the decision to axe 350 jobs at a Shropshire desserts factory “a devastating blow to the local economy”.
The jobs are set to go in the village of Minsterley near Shrewsbury after Uniq said it was transferring some operations to Somerset as part of a restructuring exercise.
Uniq has decided to focus on its premium dessert businesses and making puddings for big names like Muller and Cadbury, and to exit its loss-making “everyday” desserts business.
It plans to move production of selected premium desserts from Minsterley to its Somerset site in the first half of 2012.
The union Unite speculated that the move could be linked to Uniq’s forth-coming takeover by Irish firm Greencore.
Unite’s national officer for the food and drink sector Jennie Formby said: “We are very concerned that these job losses have been announced just days before Uniq is taken over by Greencore and it is difficult to believe that these two events are not linked.
“Since Kraft’s disastrous takeover of Cadbury we have repeatedly made the case for a Cadbury law to protect British companies from predatory takeovers by companies where a sometimes reckless pursuit of shareholder value is more important than vital jobs in British manufacturing.
“Our members must not pay the price of takeovers with their jobs and conditions.
“Unite will be fighting very hard to protect our members’ interests at this very grim time.
“Our members heard about the latest round of job losses on the internet last night – and they are furious at the lack of sensitivity and basic courtesy shown by the management.”
