A union representing workers at a Tennent’s facility in Edinburgh is fighting to save the depot after owner C&C Group announced plans to close the site by the end of June.
In a statement, Unite the Union said it was “determined to pursue every avenue” to stop the proposed closure of the facility in Newbridge, which it said would put nearly 100 jobs at risk.
“This is an extremely premature decision. We will leave no stone unturned in an effort to keep jobs at Newbridge,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham.
C&C Group plans to close the Tennent’s depot and move operations to its existing facility in Cambuslang, some 40 miles away.
“The majority of colleagues impacted by this proposal are being offered alternative employment and a consultation process is currently underway as we seek to provide all necessary support and minimise any job losses,” a spokesman for C&C Group said.
Unite said it had been informed C&C Group was proposing to transfer 41 jobs between the two sites.
“Even this figure will mean more than half the jobs are axed and is dependent on whether people can travel the 40 miles distance to Cambuslang,” it added.
Pat Egan, Unite industrial officer, said the union was “demanding urgent meetings” with bosses at Tennent’s to “develop a strategy to save the plant”.
“This is devastating news for the workforce at Tennent’s Newbridge,” he said. “The company promised that having a facility in Edinburgh was only the start of its expansion. The site has only been operating for a few years and it’s a cruel blow that 96 workers are facing redundancy.”
The Newbridge facility was opened by C&C Group in October 2020. The 50,000 sq m site was commissioned to cope with demand for Tennent’s on the east coast of Scotland, the brewing and hospitality group said at the time.
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