The food delivery company HelloFresh plans to close a key UK site, putting the jobs of 900 people at risk.
If approved, the company will close the Nuneaton Distribution Centre in Warwickshire by mid-2025. The company employs more than 20,000 people worldwide and said that it will begin a consultation with the affected employees.
HelloFresh’s spokesperson stated: “We made the difficult decision of proposing the closure our distribution centre in Nuneaton subject to consultation. We have reviewed all our options and decided to consolidate our operations in order to leverage more of our technologically advanced network and offer our customers the best product while reducing waste and emissions.
We know that this process can be unsettling for our employees. We are supporting them throughout the entire consultation process.
The company will prioritise the redeployment of employees at its Derby and Banbury locations if the proposal is approved. It may also offer incentives to those employees who remain with the company until May, when the site closes.
The spokesperson said: “The planned closing of the site does not reflect on the performance of our local team and we are grateful to them for their hardwork and commitment.”
The announcement comes after reports that the British arm has reduced its pre-tax loss by a significant amount, and its turnover reached around PS500million in the last financial period.
In the last year, HelloFresh has reduced its average UK workforce from 2,159 workers to 1,842 employees.
The Community Trade Union, which represents the workers, has insisted that it will support those who are affected by these plans and ensure that the business explores all other avenues prior to making any job reductions.
Gavin Miller is Community’s regional secretariat for the Midlands. He said: “This news is terrible for all those who work on the site. This workforce deserves better, and Community will challenge the company to prove their merits and demonstrate that they considered all viable options.
Community will represent and support our members at HelloFresh during this difficult time. They will receive full backing from their union.
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