Nestle to shut Newcastle plant with loss of 600 jobs

Nestle unveiled plans Wednesday to shut a factory in northeastern England, cutting almost 600 jobs and switching some production to Europe.

The site, in the Fawdon area of Newcastle, makes confectionery including Fruit Pastilles and will be shuttered in late 2023, Nestle said in a statement.

The closure will trigger the loss of 475 jobs in Fawdon and 98 positions at its York site that produces KitKat chocolate bars.

Nestle added, however, that it will also invest £29.4 million at its factories in both York and Halifax in northern England.

“Nestle Confectionery has an ambitious business strategy in the UK and these proposals are intended to support our long-term success in an increasingly competitive category,” the company said.

“The proposed changes would create a more efficient manufacturing footprint and, in turn, allow greater strategic investment in Nestle’s biggest confectionery brands.”

Nestle, which employs 8,000 people in Britain, plans to shift some of Fawdon’s output to its other factories in both Britain and on the continent.

The GMB trade union responded that news of the closure was “sickening” amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“To ruin hundreds of lives in a ruthless pursuit of profits, to the very workers who have kept the company going during a global pandemic, is sickening,” said GMB official Ross Murdoch.