Hovis bakery closes

The Hovis bakery in Birmingham will finally cease production today, leaving hundreds of people out of work.

The decision to shut the Garretts Green factory came after owner Premier Foods lost a £75 million a year contract to supply Co-operative supermarkets.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming is due to meet the management of the city's Hovis factory.

It was announced on Tuesday that 500 jobs are to go.

He'll discuss whether there's any way to reduce redundancies.

Lib-Dem Birmingham MP John Hemming has given his support to the Hovis workers set to lose their jobs at the Birmingham factory.

He said he will do what he can but cannot promise anything. The MP is set to talk to Premier Foods on Friday, the company that owns Hovis and will be talking to the Coop later today.

Hovis have blamed the 500 job cuts in Birmingham on losing a 'significant contract' with the supermarket chain.

John Higgins of union Bakers Food and Allied Workers says Hovis cuts came as "a really, really terrible shock. We are very disappointed"

David Seeckts, Head of Manufacturing Midlands at Premier Foods said the 511 jobs were going at Birmingham because the firm lost a significant bread contract for 2013 and because of general competition and the nature of the industry.

The Birmingham site opened in 1964. There are 323 production jobs and 188 in distribution.

The plan is for the closure to go ahead by the second quarter of next year.

David Seeckts, Head of Manufacturing Midlands at Premier Foods said the 511 jobs were going at Birmingham because the firm lost a significant bread contract for 2013 and because of general competition and the nature of the industry.

The Birmingham factory makes 1.2 million Hovis loaves a week. He says there is no threat to the Hovis brand. There are 13 bakeries in total. The Birmingham site opened in 1964. There are 323 production jobs and 188 in distribution.

The plan is for the closure to go ahead by the second quarter of next year.

There are also bakeries in Nottingham and Leicester. Management say these are not part of the current redundancy proposals.

The Hovis factory in Birmingham is set to close with the loss of 511 jobs as the struggling business makes cut backs.

Several factories across England are being closed by Premier Foods, the owner of Hovis.

The business has been hit by rising costs of wheat caused by poor weather and stiff competition in the bread market.

Over 500 jobs are to go at the Hovis factory and distribution operation in Birmingham. The owner, Premier Foods, is trying to restructure its struggling bread business.