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Kellogg’s could be closing down its Trafford Park factory, putting 360 jobs at risk

The Trafford Park site is the largest cereal factory in Europe and Corn Flakes producer in the world.

Danny Jones - 9th February 2024

The Kellogg’s factory in Trafford Park could be closing down in the next couple of years after their parent organisation said they don’t see a “long-term future” for it.

A fixture in the Trafford industrial complex and the Stretford area for nearly 90 years, the Greater Manchester Kellogg‘s site produces around a million boxes of popular ranges like Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Coco Pops every day and provides jobs for approximately 360 locals.

However, as a subsidiary of the multinational Kellanova — which manufactures cereal, noodles, snacks like Pringles, Pop Tarts Nutri-Grain bars and more — the location could now be shutting down by 2026, with the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) describing the news as “devastating”.

Citing their reasons, Kellanova’s managing director Chris Silcock said that the layout of the site “made sense in the 1930s”, but changes in industrial design in the decades since mean that “you just wouldn’t lay out a factory like that nowadays”.

For context, cereal at the 27-acre Trafford Park factory travels up and down six floors before finishing its production cycle and, as he went on to explain, employees “only use half the space in the buildings and the investment required to maintain the factory in the coming years is simply not viable”.

With thousands of Mancunians and employees from around the North West having worked at the buildings ever since it was opened by the Kellogg Company back in 1938, not only would the closure mark the closing of a long chapter in local industry but could see hundreds seriously suffer.

As per The Grocer, Kellanova has now started formal talks with factory staff and union representatives which are expected to last about three months, although they have insisted that Greater Manchester will remain the company’s British home.

Labour MP for Urmston and Stretford issued the following statement regarding the potential closure of Kellogg’s Trafford, noting that the brand “has a long and proud history in the constituency and the site has been an iconic part of our community for decades – with generations of local families working there.”

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Silcock added, “We know this will be difficult for many to hear”, assuring that they will allow staff to liaise with representatives and “support them in the right way, should this change happen”, insisting that the plans have “nothing to do with the dedication of the outstanding people who work there”.

As for USDAW, area organiser Mick Murray has confirmed they will now enter into “meaningful consultation talks with the company, where we will interrogate their business case and seek the best possible outcome for staff impacted by the proposed closure.

“We are providing our members with the support, advice and representation at this difficult time”.

Kellogg’s also has roughly 520 staff employed over the bridge at its HQ and tech hub in MediaCity although they are thought to be unaffected by the announcement, as are staff at their other UK factories and distribution centres.

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Featured Image — Wikimedia Commons