Morrisons To Shut Loss-making Rathbones Bakery

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Morrisons has chosen to adjacent its loss-making Rathbones bakery tract pursuing nan UK supermarket’s restructuring of nan business past year.

Rathbones, based successful Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has been under reappraisal for closure since precocious 2024 but a determination was taken successful January past twelvemonth to standard backmost nan bakery works and support it open.

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At nan time, nan grocer said 270 of nan 378 workers had accepted voluntary redundancy, leaving astir 138 unit arsenic Morrisons group a extremity for Rathbones to scope “breakeven” successful 2027. However, a determination has been taken early.

“Regrettably, having thoroughly reviewed each alternatives, we tin nary longer spot a measurement backmost to breakeven and person taken nan difficult determination to adjacent nan remaining facility,” a spokesperson for Morrisons’ manufacturing limb Myton Food Group said coming (7 January) successful a statement.

Myton runs nan Rathbones site, which produces master bakery products for nan retailer, including naan and pitta breads, crumpets, pancakes, basking transverse buns, and muffins.

Morrisons does cook different bakery items inhouse nether its Market Street brand, including cakes, muffins and doughnuts.

“Since nan restructuring of nan Rathbones business successful early 2025 nan squad person been moving difficult to effort and build a early for nan business arsenic a smaller, much focused supplier of master bakery products,” nan spokesperson added.

Pressures successful nan UK bakery market, rising costs and nan nonaccomplishment of a cardinal customer were cited arsenic nan reasons down nan determination to shutter nan works pursuing nan 2025 downsizing.

“Since then, nan trading conditions successful nan bakery marketplace person go moreover much challenging and contempt a tremendous effort by nan full squad to create caller markets, volumes and income person declined significantly, exacerbated by nan nonaccomplishment of a ample third-party customer, pinch costs increases and nan return of ostentation besides having a important effect connected nan competitiveness of nan business,” nan spokesperson explained.

“As a result, nan income capacity has fallen good beneath that envisaged by nan betterment plan, pinch nan business continuing to study important losses.”

Myton was incapable to corroborate erstwhile nan bakery will adjacent its doors owed to an ongoing consultation process pinch workers but said 115 labor are “at risk” of redundancy.

The institution said it will activity to find replacement opportunities wrong nan group, which is “reviewing options” for what to do pinch nan Wakefield bakery.

Another UK business, Roberts Bakery, besides attributed occupation cuts past twelvemonth to “unprecedented challenges” successful nan country’s breadstuff market.