Around 39 jobs are to go at Brace’s Bakery, after the family-owned firm announced it was to close its site in Crumlin.
The factory, on the Croespenmaen Industrial Estate, used to produce many of the company’s products, but in recent years only produced Welsh cakes and fruit bread.
The company, which was established in 1902, said the loss-making factory would close on April 4 and was hopeful that staff losses could be made through voluntary redundancies. A 30-day consultation period has now begun.
Scott Richardson, CEO Brace’s Bakery said: “After a lot of careful consideration we have decided to outsource the production of Welsh Cakes and fruit bread to a third party as it is no longer financially viable to continue to produce these in the current way. Unfortunately we have made the tough decision to close the site.
“We recognise and value the contributions of our staff at Croespenmaen site and will be working with the affected employees to mitigate the impact of the transfer. We hope to avoid compulsory redundancies, by offering redeployment into vacant posts and through schemes such as voluntary redundancy and early retirement.
“This is a difficult time for everyone and will remain challenging while the changes are implemented. We are committed to maintaining our position as a leading employer in Wales and are working with staff, unions and the Welsh Government to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“In making these changes the company will maintain our 24/7 output of our core, high quality products at the remaining two sites.
“The unique recipe of our Welsh Cakes and fruit bread will continue to be produced so customers will still be able to enjoy Brace’s Welsh Cakes for many years to come”
Brace’s employs more than 290 staff across four sites. Having recently invested in the future of the company with new technology, their Rogerstone and Pen-y-fan sites now operate at 24/7 capacity, producing over one million loaves each week.