Sutton Bridge Bakkavor site closure confirmed - with 300 people needing to find new roles

Bosses have confirmed they will axe a factory in our area - despite posting rising revenues for the last year.

Bakkavor has now confirmed its salads site in Sutton Bridge will close in the first half of 2023.

There are about 300 people working at the Millennium Way factory - and the food firm says that it has managed to find new roles for some workers at its other sites in our area and will hold a jobs fair for those still to get a new position.

A spokesman said: "We are do everything we can to support our colleagues in finding other roles. We have offered our weekly paid colleagues’ comparable roles at our other Bakkavor sites, and for those where this has not been possible, we are working on several initiatives to help colleagues secure alternative employment opportunities in their local area.

"This includes, working with local businesses and recruitment agencies and holding an on-site Jobs Fair at Bakkavor Salads Sutton Bridge to support our colleagues to secure alternative employment."

The food manufacturing firm has just released a trading update for 2022, in which its group revenues have topped £2 billion - with £1.7 billion in the UK, up 12%.

Profits are, however, down year-on-year, with inflation blamed.

The spokesman told this paper: "Our revenue growth in 2022 has been driven primarily by increasing prices in the UK due to inflation and volumes have therefore been largely flat.

"As significant market-wide headwinds persist, we have implemented a Group-wide plan to protect profits. Under this plan, we have taken decisive action which included a detailed review of our UK footprint resulting in the proposed closure of Bakkavor Salads in Sutton Bridge - and volumes will transfer to other UK sites that have the capacity and capabilities to continue to fully service our customers."

While news of this closure comes as a blow to Sutton Bridge, there was has been one positive for the area at the start of 2023, with news that the port is soon to be back up and running.

In a statement to accompany the company's results Mike Edwards, Bakkavor CEO, commented: “Despite 2022 being another challenging year, Bakkavor delivered a robust performance and once again demonstrated the strength of our customer relationships and the resilient foundations of our business. The relentless commitment and agility that our people have shown set us apart through this difficult period, and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work.

“Whilst market challenges will persist in 2023, the actions we are taking to protect profits, our clear strategy and our balance sheet strength, allow us to move forward with purpose and confidence, enabling us to deliver on our medium- to long-term ambitions.”