Up to 361 employees at a Pladis-owned Jacob’s Crackers plant in the UK are facing losing their jobs, according to a local trade union.
The GMB union said the figure accounts for nearly half of the workforce at the factory in Liverpool, in England’s north-west.
A union spokesperson told Just Food Pladis, the snacks manufacturer which owns the well-known savoury crackers brand, is engaged in a statutory consultation process with workers and their representatives but suggested this was a “box-ticking exercise”.
The site in the Aintree area of Liverpool employs 763 workers from the local area. One source suggested that, as of 2022, 4,000 tonnes of crackers are produced annually at the factory which also manufactures Mini Cheddars and Jaffa cakes.
Lisa Ryan, GMB regional organiser, said: “This decision will leave many workers feeling frustrated and worried.
“In the run-up to Christmas last year, GMB members at the site were on the picket line fighting for better pay. The workers won the pay they deserved.
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles
on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Company Profile – free
sample
Your download email will arrive shortly
We are confident about the
unique
quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most
beneficial
decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by
submitting the below form
By GlobalData
“And for this Christmas their reward is redundancies. Jacob’s has sunk to new lows.
“We will fight tooth and nail for the best outcome for Jacob’s workers.”
The strike a year ago saw employees taking sporadic action in pursuit of a pay award.
Pladis – the global snacks arm of Turkey’s Yildiz Holding – switched some production of Jacob’s Cream Crackers to a third-party manufacturer in Portugal during the dispute to ensure supply.
In March 2022, Pladis flagged potential job losses at a plant in Manchester, also in north-west England, having already announced the closure of a site in Tollcross in Scotland.
Just Food has asked Pladis to confirm the details relating to potential redundancies at the Liverpool factory supplied by the union and for a statement on the matter.
