July 31, 2020 3.41 pm This story is over 43 months old

Grantham packing factory cutting 19 staff due to COVID

Clients have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic

Nineteen staff are at risk of redundancy at a factory in Grantham as part of a restructure of the business caused by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Macfarlane Packaging Design and Manufacture operation on the Alma Park Industrial Estate in Grantham employs 88 staff. It designs and produces protective packaging for high value items for industrial customers.

The packaging site, which is owned by the Macfarlane Group PLC in Scotland, plans to reduce the number of roles down to 69 and a consultation process is underway until the end of August. It will also explore redeploying staff elsewhere in the company.

A spokesperson for Macfarlane Group said: “Some customers, in sectors like automotive and aerospace, have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus lockdown, resulting in lower demand, which we expect to continue for some time. This means we need to restructure our business to match demand levels.

“We employ 88 people in Grantham and we plan to reduce the number of roles at the site by 19, placing some people at risk of redundancy. We are initially asking for volunteers and are also considering flexible working options such as reduced hours.

“Where there is a need for compulsory redundancies, we will explore redeploying staff elsewhere in the company. The consultation with staff will continue until the end of August.

“We are clearly disappointed at having to take this action, but in the current environment these steps are necessary to protect the business overall and the jobs that it supports.”