The maker of iconic products such as tomato ketchup, baked beans and soup said in a statement it proposed to shift some foodservice production from a plant in Turnhout, Belgium, to Telford, Shropshire. The rest would be handled by co-packers.
As a result, Heinz’s Belgian factory, which employs 157 staff, could close, and it would expand Telford operations, it stated.
Further consultations
Heinz said the proposals were subject to further consultations with affected employees at the Turnhout facility and had only been reached after extensively exploring alternatives.
“If implemented, this would be a critical step in our plan to ensure we are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible to become more competitive in a challenging environment, and to accelerate the company’s future growth,” Heinz claimed.
“We have reached this difficult but necessary proposal in order to consolidate manufacturing and eliminate excess capacity. At the same time, Heinz intends to continue to invest in improving capacity utilisation and would propose to add around 80 employees at our Telford manufacturing site.
‘Excess capacity’
“This proposal is not a reflection of the commitment of our employees or the quality of the products they make. It is based primarily on factory location in relation to our customer/consumer base and the need to improve transportation efficiencies and the fact we have excess capacity.”
The Telford move follows the announcement last year of Heinz’s global restructure, including the closure of two plants in the US and one in Canada, resulting in the loss of 1,350 jobs. The firm also confirmed intentions to cut 250 office jobs across the UK in August 2013.
That was after multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and private equity firm 3G acquired the business in February last year.
Heinz employs 2,600 people in the UK and 118 at Telford currently.