Warburtons bakery closure costs 73 jobs

Warburtons has made 73 redundancies after deciding to close its bakery in Shaw, Oldham.

Workers were informed of the decision, which followed a 90-day consultation, on 30 December.

Of the 174 employees, 101 have been relocated to other sites and 73 have been made redundant. The baker said it had worked hard in the past three months to find alternative roles for as many workers as possible.

“Closing a bakery is the hardest decision a family firm like Warburtons has to make, but these changes to our manufacturing and distribution operations are vital to ensure we can continue to meet the demands of our customers and consumers,” said Warburtons MD Robert Higginson.

Warburtons will transfer production to its other UK bakeries. In 2010, it invested £39m in new equipment, additional lines at Enfield and Bristol and a new bakery in Bolton.