Production line workers packaging frozen sprouts at the Ross’s Westwick factory at North Walsham before they were taken over by Heinz.
Heinz last week announced proposals to close its Westwick factory in North Norfolk, putting over 200 jobs at risk and ending over 70 years production at the site. Heinz’s licence to manufacture Aunt Bessie’s frozen potato products for the William Jackson Food Group nears its end in April 2015 and will not be renewed.
The community near the apparently doomed Heinz factory at Westwick is being asked to rally behind the endangered workers. Town centre campaigners have launched a petition can also be found online at www.jobsmeansheinz.co.uk.
The 45,000m2 factory opened in 1948 and was acquired by HJ Heinz in 2000. It’s closure is sure to have a devastating effect on this community and the knock on effects to farming significant.
There has been no news yet as to who is likely to now be producing Aunt Bessie’s potato products but we suspect that they will likely end up being imported. We will follow this issue and report when we know more.
In the meantime please show your support and sign the petition.
The link doesn’t seem to be working….do you have the correct link?
Here you go! http://www.jobsmeansheinz.co.uk/
Please can you help these people as I know how this feels after losing my own job at aRemploy Packaging.