Threat to 600 jobs at factories

Staff in Maesteg will be told more details on Friday as a buyer is sought

Nearly 600 jobs are under threat at two factories in south Wales.

Cosmetics factory Budelpack International COSi at Maesteg, which employs nearly 400 people, has gone into administration.

Up to 200 jobs could go at the Serious Food Company factory at Llantrisant, which makes fruit juices and smoothies.

The Welsh Assembly Government said it was already working with both companies to "mobilise all available support for their continued operations."

Workers at Budelpack said they were told on Wednesday afternoon that jobs were under threat.

There is hope the administrators can find a buyer for the business in the next few weeks to save jobs.

Administrator Grant Thornton blamed the downturn in the economy for the factory's problems and said it aimed to secure a purchaser for the business.

The administrator said the staff at the factory had not been given redundancy notices.

It is expected a fuller picture will be given to staff on Friday but workers are worried job losses could be significant.

Grant Thornton director of recovery and reorganisation Alistair Wardell said: "It has been well documented that the general business climate is extremely challenging at the moment, but we will be making strenuous efforts to secure a purchaser for this business.

"In the meantime we will be working closely with customers, suppliers, local senior management and trade union representatives as we seek ways of maintaining manufacturing output at the plant."

Buyout

Budelpack used to be owned by Revlon and lies at the heart of the town where it has employed people since the 1960s.

It underwent a buyout in November last year in an attempt to save jobs.

Last month the plant cut its workforce by more than 200, blaming a sales slump.

Staff were told the latest news when they turned up at 1400 GMT for the late shift.

We will do everything we can to work with both companies, the workforce and their unions Welsh Assembly Government

One worker, who did not want to be named, said they had been told they would be paid and would work until Friday, but after that the factory would then be run on a skeleton staff.

She said there were quite a few couples working there and they were worried they would be left without any pay over Christmas.

"It's the biggest employer here - it will hit Maesteg for six."

Another woman said she was "gutted" with both her and her husband working there.

Other workers said that last month they were told 80 jobs would have to go to guarantee the future, so the latest news came completely out of the blue.

Some workers had been there for more than 30 years.

They have been told they will receive statutory redundancy pay.

Meanwhile, the Serious Food Company in Llantrisant has entered a 90-day consultation period with 800 staff.

The company makes juices for the main supermarket chains. It was formerly known as Sunjuice, which was founded in 1987 as a subsidiary of the Caribbean-based Jamaica Producers Group, originally a fruit growers association.

It had seven workers, but grew to becoming a market leader in Europe, producing 100m litres a year.

Its new headquarters on the Llantrisant Business Park were opened by First Minister Rhodri Morgan in 2006.

The company also moved into soups and has a distribution depot in Berkshire.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said officials were already working with both companies to support them in continuing.

"Potentially, this could be a very serious blow to two communities, and we will do everything we can to work with both companies, the workforce and their unions to try to avert or alleviate the consequences of these announcements," he said.

Alun Cairns, Conservative AM for South Wales West said it was "an absolute body blow" to the economy in a small pocket of south Wales.

"We can compare it to the closure of a major manufacturing unit in somewhere like Cardiff."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version