Bakery jobs under threat
Worry for staff after announcement puts up to 100 at risk in restructuring plans
The workforce at Greggs bakery in Cambuslang could be almost halved as union representatives say up to 100 jobs are under threat.
Bosses at Greggs’ told staff at the firm’s flagship bakery in Clydesmill Industrial Estate that a major restructure would result in dozens of jobs going over the next two years.
The restructure will see the Cambuslang bakery become a centre of excellence for sweet bakes, specifically Belgian buns and yum yums.
Bread, currently made on the night shift, donuts, made on the back shift and the confectionary line, which makes cakes and biscuits for local outlets, will be scrapped.
A Greggs source told the Reformer the news came as a surprise to most workers: “Staff were informed on Wednesday morning that there was going to be 50 full time roles going, but that could equate to 100 part time roles, that would be disappearing from Cambuslang.
“I kind of saw this coming, but a lot of the workers didn’t. You could always maybe see the bread disappearing. But the likes of the donuts and cakes? That’s come as a shock.”
He added: “There’s talk about investing in shops and making them look a lot better and maybe putting more staff in them, but I don’t think they will be doing it on that scale [where people in the factory could be redeployed to the shop floor].”
Staff at the Cambuslang bakery have been asked to consider voluntary redundancy, but some fear compulsory redundancies could come into force in the nine to 24- month period in which the production of goods is gradually phased out.
They want to see all staff, including temporary workers, get a fair deal.
Dave Gill, Usdaw national officer, said: “Greggs bakery staff are now very concerned about the future after this announcement.
“Usdaw will now enter into consultation talks with the company, where we will interrogate the business case for their proposals.
“Our priorities are to save as many jobs as possible, maximise employment in the business and seek the best possible deal for our members. In the meantime we are providing our members with the representation, support and advice they need at this difficult and uncertain time.”
A spokeswoman for Greggs said: “Following the announcement in March 2016 regarding our planned £100 million investment in our supply chain over the next five years, we are now planning the next phase of this investment.
“This will increase and reshape our manufacturing and distribution capabilities and enable us to support shop expansion, substantially more than 2000 shops, as we continue to compete effectively in the growing food-on-the-go market.
“Our proposal is that Clydesmill becomes a combined distribution and production centre of excellence with increased shop distribution capacity for Scotland and production focused on certain products.
“These proposals will create new jobs in shops, logistics and distribution as we grow shop numbers, however there will be fewer jobs in manufacturing. We have entered into a period of consultation with our people regarding the proposals.”
You could maybe see the bread disappearing – but donuts and cakes?... that’s a shock