Strike ballot at cereals factory

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Workers at a breakfast cereals factory are to begin balloting on strike action over redundancies.

Kellogg's plans to cut 40 jobs from its 521-strong workforce at the plant on Wrexham Industrial Estate.

Officials from the union Usdaw say they have not been properly consulted over the job losses.

Kellogg's said the cuts were part of an efficiency review rather than caused by the economic climate, adding it had had lots of volunteers to take redundancy.

The company has had a factory in Wrexham for 31 years, producing All Bran, Bran Flakes and Special K brand cereals, and is one of the biggest employers in the town.

It is understood 25 employees have already opted to take voluntary redundancy since a consultation period began in April.

Over Wrexham plant's 31-year history, we've only made a handful of redundancies Kellogg's spokesman

A union spokesman said: "Usdaw is in dispute with Kellogg's regarding the proposed cutting of 40 jobs at the site in Wrexham and the company's failure to consult properly with the union over the proposals.

"Because of this, we are looking to ballot our members on industrial action in the week commencing 14 September.

"However, strike action is always our last port of call, so we have advised Kellogg's management that we are available to re-open negotiations at any time, in an attempt to avoid it if at all possible."

'Several meetings'

A spokesman for Kellogg's said: "Kellogg's is performing strongly during the recession. To remain a leader we need to remain highly efficient.

"We remain committed to Wrexham and its 521-strong workforce but, like other companies, we have faced rising costs and fresh challenges about how we manage our business efficiently.

"If we implement these changes we're confident we will emerge even stronger when the current economic downturn reverses."

The company believes it has observed the "spirit and legal requirements" of the consultation period, and says it has held seven meetings with Usdaw representatives.

"Over Wrexham plant's 31-year history, we've only made a handful of redundancies and, during this time, we've gained recognition locally (and specifically from Usdaw) for being a fair employer that remunerates and treats its workforce well.

"When we announced our plans to take out 40 operational roles earlier this year we received almost double that number in requests for voluntary redundancy."