January 9, 2013 10.43 am
This story is over 113 months old
A third of jobs to go at Walkers Lincoln snack factory
Job losses: More than a third of the jobs at the Walkers Lincoln snack factory on Newark Road will be lost as new state-of-the-art packing equipment will be installed.
More than a third of the jobs at a Lincoln snack factory are set to go.
PepsiCo announced on Wednesday major changes to its Walkers factory in Lincoln on Newark Road.
The company said that due to new packing equipment being installed at the factory, around 87 of the 251 jobs on site will be lost.
The value of the “significant investment” won’t be disclosed until the company’s annual results, and PepsiCo said it is investing to stay in Lincoln and make the city site best in class.
Steve Switzer, Site Leader at Walkers Lincoln, said: “Like many businesses we are continually reviewing our operations to ensure we remain competitive and take full advantage of future growth opportunities.
“Having looked extensively at our Lincoln site, we are today announcing that we will invest to install new state-of-the-art packing equipment. This move will significantly change the way we pack our goods, improve efficiency and ensure Lincoln has the capacity to support the long-term growth of the Walkers business in the UK.
“As a result of this change we will be entering a consultation period at the site which may result in the loss of around 87 of the 251 jobs on site.
“This has been a tough decision to make and we recognise that this is difficult news for some of our employees.
“I am personally grateful to all our staff for their continued dedication and commitment to Lincoln and, as we make these changes to secure the future of our site for many years to come, I would like to reassure all individuals impacted of our full support and assistance.”
— Later update: Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, said: “This is terrible news for the affected workers and their families, especially at a time when there is already so much pressure on household incomes.
“We are being proactive in assissting all those affected by sending a team of experts to offer support and advice on issues such as benefits and gaining new employment. This is being done is conjunction with Job Centre Plus. We want to ensure that these staff get all the help they deserve.”
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney commented: “The decision to install state-of-the-art packaging equipment at the Walkers crisps factory in Lincoln is the result of the continued success of the facility and the need for businesses such as PepsiCo to remain competitive.
“At the same time, I can of course appreciate that the news of any potential redundancies is disappointing for those affected and, therefore, this development is clearly a double-edged sword.
“However, I have been assured by senior representatives of PepsiCo that staff affected will receive full professional support and assistance to help them find a job elsewhere as part of their redundancy package.
“I know this decision was taken to ensure the long-term viability of the site and I certainly hope it will enhance the level of economic activity here in Lincoln and also ensure and enhance the likelihood of a continued successful Walkers’ production facility based here in my constituency.”
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Whatsapp
