Council and union bosses hope to convince Burton’s Foods to keep its Moreton factory open.
A planned meeting this week with the biscuit manufacturer aims to challenge Burton’s decision to close the Wirral site, with the loss of 342 jobs.
The factory which makes Cadbury’s chocolate biscuits under licence, Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels was saved from closure for at least five years in 2007 after owner Duke Street Capital agreed a rescue plan with the Unite union. However, it was recently taken over by its bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
Said Unite national officer for food and drink Jennie Formby: "We were given a commitment in 2007 that there would be no further restructuring they have reneged on that and we are now considering our options."
Burton’s has started a 90-day consultation with staff, but Unite has vowed to present the company with alternatives to compulsory redundancies.
Burton’s blamed, "an increasingly challenging and competitive environment with industry over-capacity and high commodity cost inflation," for its decision, which it said formed part of a new £25m three-year capital spending programme to build production capabilities at its manufacturing sites in Edinburgh and Llantarnam, South Wales.
It will also consolidate its Knowlsey multi-site distribution operations in a single location.
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