Colman's factory in Norwich will close next year

Anglia
Wednesday 28 March 2018 at 10:23am

Colman's factory in Norwich Credit: ITV Anglia

The owners of the Colman's factory in Norwich say the site will close at the end of next year.

Unilever say the first phase of consultation staff has been completed.

Production will start to transfer away from Norwich to the Unilever plant at Burton on Trent in autumn this year.

113 jobs in Norwich are now at risk of redundancy, around 40 will transfer to Burton.

Colman's factory in Norwich Credit: ITV Anglia

“We have confirmed today that our Norwich factory will close at the end of 2019. This follows Britvic’s decision last year that it will close its factory on our shared site. We appreciate this is very difficult news for our employees and their families, and we would like to thank everyone for their commitment and contribution to our business over many years in Norwich. The proposals we are now moving forward with represent the best long-term solution for Colman’s production in the UK, whilst preserving the historic link with Norwich. We believe in doing the right thing for our people and are committed to treating them with fairness and respect. We will be offering employees who are affected a comprehensive package of support, including discussing redeployment opportunities at other sites and providing services to help people find new employment.”

Colman's factory in Norwich Credit: ITV Anglia

Unilever says they want to keep production and packing of Colman’s mustard powder, the mustard milling process and mint processing in a new state-of-the-art milling facility in the Norwich area employing around 25 people.

No announcement has been made as to where that will be. The company is also pledging to source the mustard locally.