Kellogg’s factory in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, is at risk of closure in a move that could leave hundreds of workers out of a job.
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Kellanova, the American owner of Kellogg’s, said it “can’t currently see a long-term future” for the site.
About one million boxes of cereals, including Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, and Coco Pops, are made at the factory, which first opened in 1938.
However, the proposed closure plans anticipate that the final batches of cereal will leave the factory for good by 2026 and 360 workers could be left without a job.
Andrew Western MP said closing the factory “would be a devastating loss to the people of Stretford and Urmston” and hoped the owners would reconsider closing the site.
Kellanova’s managing director, Chris Silcock justified the proposal to close the site because of the factory’s ageing layout.
He said the factory’s floorplan “made sense in the 1930s”, but changes in industrial design meant “you just wouldn’t lay out a factory like that nowadays”.
“What’s more we only use half the space in the buildings and the investment required to maintain the factory in the coming years is simply not viable,” he added.
Kellanova has started formal talks with factory staff and union representatives at Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers).
The brand’s cereal factory at Wrexham and the firm’s St Helens distribution centre will not be affected, the company said.
Mick Murray, Usdaw area organiser, said: “This is devastating news for the staff to hear that the Kellogg’s manufacturing site in Manchester’’ Trafford Park is being considered for closure.
“Usdaw will now enter into meaningful consultation talks with the company, where we will interrogate their business case and seek the best possible outcome for staff impacted by the proposed closure.
“We are providing our members with the support, advice and representation at this difficult time.”
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and All Bran were first introduced to the British Public in 1922, where they were imported originally from the USA and later from Canada.
The cereal brand opened its first British factory in Trafford Park, Manchester on May 24, 1938.
In 1936, a box of Corn Flakes was priced at 5-and-a-half old pennies, with UK sales at the time exceeding 50 million packets sold.
The company’s Manchester factory is the largest cereal factory in Europe and manufactures corn and rice-based products including Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, launched in 1928, Frosties – 1954, Coco Pops -1960 and Crunchy Nut in 1980, among others.
It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 350 days of the year and employs around 400 people from the local area.
While 70 million boxes of Corn Flakes are produced every year, they also manufacture a further 39 million boxes of Crunchy Nut in Manchester annually.
More than 70 million kilograms of honey have been used in the last 42 years in the production of Crunchy Nut, while 1.2 billion peanuts are used every year and each 500g box contains a whopping 6,000 golden Crunchy Nut flakes.