Jobs fear as Uniq Desserts stops Shropshire yoghurt production

Uniq Desserts is to close the yoghurt manufacturing part of its Shropshire plant - putting about 50 jobs under threat.

Bosses said it had now started to consult employees who could be at risk at the site in Minsterley, near Shrewsbury, after confirming the company's intention to close the section for "commercial reasons".

They said the returns it would get from its "premium, differentiated yoghurt" business would be "insufficient" to invest further in the section of the firm and production would end in April next year.

The announcement came as it was revealed Dublin-based Greencore had offered £113 million to buy Uniq, which employs 1,900 people, including those who make desserts at Minsterley and others who make sandwiches and salads at other sites in the country.

Greencore said the purchase of Uniq would bolster its scale in the food-to-go and chilled desserts categories.

Minsterley site managing director Steve Hill spoke of the "commercial" decision to close the yoghurt manufacturing area at the site.

Priority

He said: "Clearly this is extremely disappointing news for everyone involved in the yoghurt business unit and our priority now will be to work with those employees and their representatives to look for ways in which to try to mitigate the impact of the loss of volume when production ends in April next year.

"The reason for the decision to exit yoghurt is entirely commercial and in no way a reflection on the levels of quality and service that the yoghurt team has been consistently delivering over the past few years."

The news was met with disappointment in the county today. David Leeson, chairman of Minsterley Parish Council, said: "It's a difficult time all around. I'd like to see something done really by either central government or the county council to stimulate jobs growth in the area."

Nick Chavasse, director and vice-president at Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, said: "It's terribly sad to see an increasing number of redundancies across the board in the county.

"This particular one will have serious implications on a small rural village outside the county town. The chamber of commerce is very sad for Uniq to have to go through this particular strain."