A local company name has disappeared for good this week as Bakkavor becomes Greencore in a £1.2bn take over now finalised – and some redundancies are also likely to be on the way.
Based in Ireland, Greencore has completed its acquisition and the company now has 28,000 staff across the UK and USA who will deliver a billion sandwiches, salads, sushi and other food-to-go items among its portfolio.
But a long-serving member of the former Bakkavor team said he was one of 76 people whose roles are being made redundant as a result, and they were informed just last week.
“We were told we can go up to a different grade, go down or leave, but if we stay then there will be a shift pattern change. And then we were told that although there are 76 of us, there are only 36 jobs to go for,” said a long-standing employee who did not want to be identified.
“Some of us can’t change shift patterns completely because we have family commitments outside of work.
“We even worked through the strike and now we’re being told we have to apply for a job that we’re already doing or have already done. This week we’ve seen all smiles with the new company, and it’s just rubbed salt in really.”
A company spokesman said: “We regularly review how our operations are running to ensure we are working as effectively as possible. As part of this process, we are currently consulting with a small number of colleagues at our Spalding West Marsh Road site regarding a proposed change to role responsibilities.”
Greencore announced the completion of its acquisition and says it ‘marks the start of a new chapter for the company as it prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary and set the stage for industry-defining growth.’
“We now have the scale, expertise and ambition to lead the way in convenience food – delivering even more for our customers and creating exciting opportunities for our colleagues,” said Dalton Philips, CEO of the company.
Bakkavor’s retail customers include Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose, while Greencore supplies all major UK supermarkets and is the biggest pre-packed sandwich maker in the UK.
Bakkavor was founded in 1986 as a seafood exporter and expanded into the UK during the 1990s, buying Geest in 2005 and being listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2017.
