Hundreds of jobs are under threat after Coca-Cola announced proposals to close its Northampton distribution centre and Milton Keynes factory.
If the plan goes ahead production would move to other parts of the country in 2019 – a move which the drinks giant says would provide gains in efficiency.
Coca-Cola European Partners released the following statement today:
Today we are announcing a proposal to close our manufacturing site in Milton Keynes and a separate proposal to close our distribution centre in Northampton.
We know today’s news will be upsetting for our people at these sites, and our immediate priority is to support them throughout the consultation process.
We are proud of our long standing links with both towns and have not made these proposals lightly. However, we believe the proposed changes are necessary as they would provide significant productivity improvements and create greater efficiency across our manufacturing and distribution operations in Great Britain.
If these proposed changes are implemented they could result in the total loss of 288 roles, and the sites would close in 2019.
At the same time we are proposing to transfer production and warehousing to other GB sites. We expect to create 121 additional roles across our manufacturing and distribution networks, providing potential redeployment opportunities for impacted colleagues.
