Catherine has responded to news that Nestle is consulting on the closure of its factory in Fawdon by the end of 2023, putting 475 local jobs at risk, calling the announcement ‘absolutely devastating’.

The factory was opened in 1958 by then owners Rowntree and currently produces some of the country’s most well-known confectionary products such as Rolo, Toffee Crisp and Fruit Pastilles. Alongside the 475 employees based in Fawdon, 98 jobs in York would be lost if the proposals go ahead.

Commenting on the news, Catherine McKinnell MP said:

“Today’s announcement that 63 years of chocolate manufacturing in Fawdon could soon come to an end is absolutely devastating. This will be an extremely worrying time for loyal workers who produce some of the best-known names on the sweet aisle and have helped keep the nation fed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is particularly difficult to accept that the world’s largest food company needs to make hundreds of Newcastle workers redundant at a time when it has just achieved its strongest quarterly growth in a decade.

I will be meeting urgently with the GMB union and employees impacted to discuss how we respond to the proposals.”