Morton’s Rolls: 250 jobs at risk as one of Scotland’s best-known bakeries shuts down

One of Scotland’s best-known bakeries shut down yesterday putting around 250 jobs at risk.

The closure of Morton’s Rolls came after the firm missed a deadline to file accounts. The company ceased trading on Friday when, in a letter, staff were told: “We are writing to consult you with regard to your employment with Morton’s Rolls Limited being terminated as a result of redundancy. Whilst no final decision has been taken, every employee of the company is receiving this letter as all jobs are at risk.”

With the McVitie’s factory in the Tollcross area also shutting late last year, costing around 500 jobs, Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said the Morton’s closure continued a worrying trend for skilled manufacturing workers in the city.

“There has been a number of substantial closures of industrial firms in Glasgow over the last few years, which is having a really bad cumulative effect on the city’s economy,” he told The Sunday Post.

This is awful news. Coming after the closure of McVitie's in Tollcross, losing the iconic Mortons Rolls of Drumchapel and 250 jobs would be another hammer-blow to Glasgow's economy. The government must step in now to try to find a firm that will buy Mortons out of administration. https://t.co/IEFAr4Py4n

— Paul Sweeney (@PaulJSweeney) March 3, 2023

In 2021, Morton’s Rolls agreed a six-figure deal with supermarket Lidl and said it was making a significant investment in new machines and new jobs. However, company suppliers have reportedly not been paid for months.

Sweeney added: “I’m speaking to my colleague Anas Sarwar this afternoon and I’ve already spoken to the GMB trade union so we’re trying to find as many angles as we can to try and get a positive outcome here.”

The bakery, founded by Bob Morton and Jim Clarke in 1965, made an estimated 111,000 cakes, 275,000 scones and two million rolls every week. The original Morton’s bakery dated back to 1965 but collapsed in debt in 2006.

“It’s a horrible thing to have suddenly been sprung on the workforce without much warning,” said Sweeney.

“It is a real hammer blow to those workers, just a horrible feeling to not know what your future job will be, whether the business has an opportunity to restructure or whether this is the end. The lack of communication really has been actually quite shocking.”

For the year to the end of March 2021, the company reported a loss of £262,00 on turnover of more than £11.8m.