Canning is to end at Nestle Purina Petcare in Wisbech later this year, with a number of jobs from the 600 workforce set to go.
The company says it is has seen a fall-off in demand for canned pet food in favour of pouches, which will continue to be produced at the Cambridgeshire plant.
According to a report in the Wisbech Standard, no details have yet been provided about the number of possible job losses but a spokesman described the canning line as a ‘small but significant’ part of Nestlés operation in the Fens.
“It’s happening because of the ongoing fall in demand for canned pet food,” the spokesman said.
Workers were told of the closure of the canning line last Thursday and the company has begun a formal consultation with employees.
Canning is expected to come to an end in October.
FALL IN DEMAND
An official statement from the company said: “Nestlé Purina Petcare has been communicating with employees about proposed changes at its factory in Wisbech.
“Purina is addressing the ongoing fall in demand for canned pet food by announcing the difficult proposal to end canning production at Wisbech by the end of October 2019.
“The company will now enter into a consultation with the potentially impacted employees, and their representatives where appropriate, at both sites – working closely to support them at every stage of the process.”
Before Nestlé Purina took over operating the plant in 1998 it was owned by Spillers Pet Foods.
BEST-SELLING BRANDS
Nestlé Purina’s Wisbech site is one of the largest employers in the area, with more than 600 people currently working at the factory, producing some of the UK and Europe’s best-selling pet food brands, including Felix, Winalot, Gourmet, Bakers and Friskies.
According to the Standard report, In addition to the main site, just a mile away, more than 300 DHL employees work for Nestlé Purina Wisbech in a multi-packing facility. Here, the products produced at the factory are prepared for transportation around the UK and further afield into Europe.
The spokesman added: “Wisbech is Purina’s only ‘wet’ pet food manufacturing site in the UK – our other plant is in Sudbury, which produces dry pet food.”
