U.K. Dessert Maker Elisabeth the Chef to Consolidate Manufacturing in New Factory

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Researched by Protel Associates Limited in alliance with Industrial Info Europe (Galway, Ireland)--Reflecting a consolidation trend currently impacting the U.K. Food & Beverage Industry, about 200 jobs are potentially at risk after Elisabeth the Chef Limited (Leamington Spa, United Kingdom) announced it is to create a new factory in Leamington Spa, which will result in the merging of staff from two existing sites.

The new project has been scaled back considerably from original plans, which began several years ago. The bakery and dessert manufacturer plans to create a new factory next to its head office, which would become the sole dessert-production site for the business. The transfer of existing dessert operations from sites in Southam and in St. Mary's Road, Leamington, to the new facility is expected to be completed by the middle of next year, said a spokesperson for the firm.

Currently, about 100 full-time staff are employed at the company's Southam premises, and about 250 full-time employees are at the St. Mary's Road site, with additional agency and temporary staff employed in periods of peak demand. The company has confirmed that the new site will only require about 150 staff, meaning a potential 200 or more job losses. "The skills required to operate the new site will be different to those needed for the existing factories, so a consultation process is required to check which of the current employees are able and willing to transfer across, with training if necessary," said the spokesperson.

Consultations with employees are scheduled to begin this month and are expected to last up to 90 days, with no redundancies expected before spring 2010.

Protel Associates is the leading provider of sales intelligence for equipment and service suppliers to the U.K. & Ireland Process Industries with particular emphasis on the Pharmaceutical/Biotech, Chemical and Food & Beverage sectors. Protel's information is researched, validated and confirmed by a highly skilled and experienced team to provide intelligence that is not otherwise available in the public domain.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.