Devizes food firm jobs in doubt

12:25pm Friday 9th January 2009

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The future of sandwich manufacturer Gibsons Foods' manufacturing plant in Devizes is in doubt as the company is understood to be in administration.

The Gazette has been told that staff at the company's other manufacturing site and head office in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, were told on Wednesday by a director that Gibsons Foods was no longer trading and all the staff there were made redundant.

Insolvency practitioners Wilson Field, based in Sheffield, have been brought in by the company.

A member of staff from the Ellesmere Port office told the Gazette: "I was at work on Tuesday and we were told to come in for a meeting on Wednesday where Kevin Pritchard, one of the directors, told the staff that production had finished and we were being made redundant. There was no consultation.

"We lost a contract with Sayers just before Christmas, which involved us supplying 60,000 sandwiches a week.

"We also lost a contract to supply sandwiches to Budgens, which was 20,000 sandwiches a week, and we didn't renew a contract to supply Weight Watchers. Also, we were not successful in bidding for contracts with Moto and WH Smith."

The staff member said they were told the Devizes site would also be closed but it appears production is continuing at the factory, based at the Hopton Industrial Estate.

When the Gazette went to the factory yesterday afternoon a male member of staff would only say: "We don't know the future of the site. We are still in production."

Another employee told the Gazette that the factory was operating normally and was not aware of the closure of the Ellesmere Port office.

Calls to the Ellesmere Port head office today and yesterday have gone through to an answerphone message saying the office is closed.

No one was available for comment at Wilson Field today but we were told that staff there were out at meetings concerning Gibsons Foods and someone would call us back on Monday.

More than 100 people were employed at the Ellesmere Port office.

It is not known how many people are employed at the Devizes factory but two years ago the number was 90.

The Devizes site makes sandwiches that are supplied to Shell petrol stations.

It is understood that the Devizes factory may be supplying sandwiches to Morrisons supermarkets following the closure of the Ellesmere Port site.

Gibsons Foods was set up in 1977.

The company bought the factory in Devizes in 2005 following the closure of Uniq (formerly Toft Foods).

The Devizes factory is larger than the factory at Ellesmere Port.