McVitie’s Tollcross factory will close next year, owners confirm

Plans to close the historic McVitie’s biscuit factory at Tollcross in Glasgow will go ahead, owners Pladis have confirmed.

Close to 500 workers at the plant are set to lose their jobs by the second half of 2022.

Pladis UK director David Murray said in a statement: “We know this news will be difficult for our colleagues at Tollcross, so it is with regret that we announce our intention to proceed with the proposal to close the site.

“Our priority is to provide employees with the on-going support they need as we continue with the consultation.

“Pladis is home to some of Britain’s best loved brands which have been part of the fabric of our society for nearly two hundred years. In order to protect them for generations to come, we must take steps to address excess capacity in the UK.”

Today is a sad day for Manufacturing and the east end of glasgow pic.twitter.com/CxKOGTLIXb

— Save Our Jobs Mcvities Tollcross Sign the petition (@save_jobs) August 10, 2021

The planned closure has been opposed by politicians and trade unions, with protests outside the site and the Scottish Parliament in efforts to save the jobs at risk.

We told last month how the knock-on effect of closure would hit a further 400 jobs, with the total cost to the economy estimated at £49m per year.

We also outlined a counter-proposal to closure, prepared by a group led by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, which consisted of a new factory, securing hundreds of jobs, built near the existing site at a cost of just over £50m.

But the plans have been rejected by Pladis.

McVitie’s traces its origins to a single shop opened in Edinburgh’s Rose Street in 1839 and closure of Tollcross would mark the end of its links with Scotland.

Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: “Despite a workable counterproposal being submitted, Pladis have failed to engage constructively and in good faith, rejecting it out of hand and confirming their intention to continue with the closure.

“The proposal would have seen manufacturing continue in the East End, ensuring continued employment in a community that has borne the brunt of austerity.

“While I appreciate that the first minister has personally intervened, the Scottish Government must now step up and use every power at its disposal to save these jobs – if that means introducing a comprehensive state aid package then that’s exactly what needs to happen.”