A spokesman for the company said the restructuring of the Maes-y-Coed Road site came after the manufacturer announced the loss of a major own-label bakery contract, “following which we have undertaken a detailed review of our bakery network to optimise our production capacity, locations and routes-to-market”.
“Our aim is to ensure we continue to supply high-quality fresh-wrapped bread to customers across the country as efficiently as possible. As a result of this review, we are proposing to restructure our facility in Cardiff,” they added.
Relocated to larger facilities
Should the restructure go ahead, Allied Bakeries intended to continue to operate the site as a logistics depot, distributing its products into Wales and the south west of England, leaving jobs in this section of business largely untouched. Bakery operations would be re-allocated to larger facilities in the UK that have capacity available to meet customer demand.
“We will now enter a period of consultation where our recommendations will be carefully reviewed,” the spokesman continued. “If these proposals are accepted, it will regrettably result in some redundancies and we understand that this announcement will be unsettling for our colleagues in Cardiff.
Supporting workers
“If these changes go ahead we will provide support to anyone impacted to help them find a new job, either at another Allied Bakeries’ site, or elsewhere in the local community.”
Meanwhile, Allied Bakeries’ parent company Associated British Foods reported a drop in pre-tax profit in its half-year results, thanks to struggling sugar sales. The impact to sales from the loss of Allied Bakeries’ largest own-label bread manufacturing contract with a major retailer will not be felt until the next financial year.