November 10, 2022 10.00 am This story is over 15 months old

Bakkavor proposes to close Lincolnshire site, nearly 450 jobs at risk

Around 450 jobs also at risk in Leicester

Food producer Bakkavor is proposing to close its salads and desserts divisions in Sutton Bridge and Leicester respectively, putting 900 jobs at risk (with around 450 at each factory).

Bakkavor, which produces meals for big supermarket chains, employs close to 16,000 people around the country, including at sites across Lincolnshire. There are 446 employees located at Bakkavor Salads in Sutton Bridge.

The firm said it had been forced into “decisive action” to meet the “challenging macro-economic backdrop”.

However, Unite union said it would try to ensure “redundancies are kept to a minimum” and hopes some of the jobs that may be lost will be reallocated to sites around Lincolnshire.

A 45-day consultation period with affected employees will now begin.

Bakkavor Salads in Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Google Street View

Bakkavor said the decision followed a “details review” of its UK bases, with the “significant level of inflation and consumer headwinds expected to persist into next year”.

Mike Edwards, Bakkavor chief executive officer, told the BBC the company would do “everything we can to support our people through this difficult time”.

“As with businesses all over the UK, we are having to take decisive action to adapt to the challenging macro-economic backdrop,” he said.

“The decision to close any site is never taken lightly, and we do not underestimate the impact of this announcement on our colleagues and the local communities within which we operate.”


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