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Coca-Cola to close Milton Keynes and Northampton sites | Coca-Cola to close Milton Keynes and Northampton sites |
(35 minutes later) | |
Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola has confirmed it is moving forward with plans to close two UK sites, risking almost 300 jobs. | |
The US firm is to close its plant in Milton Keynes, which employs 220 people, and a distribution centre in Northampton, shedding 54 jobs. | |
It said it has consulted workers for the past two months and the closures would provide greater efficiency. | It said it has consulted workers for the past two months and the closures would provide greater efficiency. |
But Unite said there was no "convincing business case" made for the move. | |
The union's regional officer Sally Mortimer said she wanted Coca-Cola to have an "urgent rethink and not to jettison the hard-working workforces at these two sites". | |
A Coca-Cola European Partners spokesman said they "want to stress" the move was not a reflection on employees at the sites. | |
'Maximum support' to workers | |
The company said it would offer "training and development opportunities" for affected employees and that 121 new roles will be created elsewhere. | |
Production and warehousing will be transferred to other sites in Great Britain, it said. | Production and warehousing will be transferred to other sites in Great Britain, it said. |
Coca-Cola employs 4,000 people in Great Britain and has six manufacturing centres - a figure which includes Milton Keynes. | |
It employs 450 people at its largest plant, in Wakefield. | |
The Milton Keynes site, which was established in 1976, has nine manufacturing lines and produces 60 million cases of soft drinks a year. | |
Meanwhile, the Northampton distribution centre opened in 1993 and is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. | Meanwhile, the Northampton distribution centre opened in 1993 and is operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. |
Ms Mortimer, from Unite, added: "We will be exploring with the company the redeployment opportunities that it has offered today, so as many workers as possible find new jobs within Coca-Cola. | |
"As a union, we will be giving our members maximum support during this very difficult time for them." |