300 jobs under the axe as crisp factory closes

The Tayto Group has set in motion a two-year plan to close its crisp-making site in Wednesbury, West Midlands, which will affect around 300 employees.

In a statement, the company said that the gradual shutdown would "begin with immediate effect". It follows a group-wide review of its manufacturing facilities.

Tayto said that the decision to close the site was accelerated by Procter & Gamble's decision to withdraw Pringles Minis - made at the group's Corby plant - from the UK last year. "Some administration staff will leave the company in September, but no further redundancies among employees, beyond those of temporary workers and those caused by natural wastage, are anticipated until 2010," said the company.

"The phased closure will begin with immediate effect and will continue over two years, subject to site performance and customer expectation," added James McKinney, md of Tayto Group in the UK.

"We anticipate that the next round of redundancies will not occur until 2010, with the final redundancies occurring in 2011," he added.