Documents reveal that Pladis continued to draw down money till January, 2018. United Biscuits (UK) Limited, which is trading as Pladis, made a £63m pre-tax profit in 2019 - £5m more than the previous year. The union GMB Scotland has said that David Murray, Pladis UK and Ireland managing director has questions to answer over public funding and why the site was not modernised. Four years ago the union raised fears for the factory s future and sought reassurances from managers over the factory. The union raised worries Pladis was not committed long-term having been silent over the future of modernisation investment at the Tollcross site. Pladis had said it had invested more than £5m in the previous few years.
Glasgow biscuit factory set to close despite taxpayer-funded boost to support local jobs Reports have emerged that its owner had received £818k from Scottish Enterprise to support the training and upskilling of the workforce now at risk of losing their jobs.
The closure of the McVitie’s plant in the East End of Glasgow puts 468 jobs at risk, which Unite Scotland has deemed ‘disgusting’, particularly in light of the £818,000 it received from Scottish Enterprise to upskill the workforce.
A spokesperson from pladis told BakeryandSnacks,
“We received a grant from Scottish Enterprise for training and upskilling over five years ago. We can confirm all conditions of that award have been met.”
Almost 100-year-old McVitie’s biscuit factory in Glasgow to close McVitie’s owner pladis has announced plans to close an historic biscuit factory in Tollcross subject to consultation, which will result in the loss of almost 500 jobs.
pladis said the reason behind the closure was to ‘address excess capacity’ across its UK and Ireland sites.
The company operates seven manufacturing sites in the region, along with a distribution hub and offices that together employ more than 4,600 people. Globally, its Turkish parent company Yildis Holdings operates 25 factories in 11 countries, with a total workforce of over 16,000 people.
Future capabilities
“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,” said David Murray, pladis MD of UK&I.