FamilieS of workers threa-tened with redundancy at Liver-pool bakery Sayers marched through the streets in a last-ditch attempt to save their jobs.

Protesters called on owner, Lyndale Foods, to invest in the site to help improve efficiency rather than shed more than 180 jobs and transfer much of the production to Lyndale’s Hampsons bakery in Bolton.

The firm is consulting with staff over 140 full-time and 40 part-time possible redundancies at the bakery and in administrative functions, following the loss of a Kwik Save contract; half of Sayers’ output was to Kwik Save stores. Sayers has also closed down its pension fund, a move which angered the workforce.

The main union at the site, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), organised the march, which was joined by Labour MP for Liverpool, West Derby, Bob Wareing, who pledged to keep putting pressure on the government. Union representative John Higgins said: “Management hasn’t investigated enough avenues to see if we can save these jobs and a lot of people feel really aggrieved as the bakery has a long tradition in this area.”

He said the union did not accept the high number of redundancies and wanted to explore the possibility of “sharing the pain” between the two bakeries.

A company spokesman insisted it was looking at every possibility during its consultation but Higgins added: “We’re still talking about terms and conditions, but although we hope there will be concessions, they have given us no reason to believe that there will be.”

A final decision is expected in the next few weeks.

The Sayers bakery supplies 123 shops and national chains and wholesalers with products including cakes, morning rolls, bread and savouries.

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