Kellogg's to shut down Manchester factory after 90 years with hundreds of jobs at risk

A Kellogg's factory in Manchester has announced it could close, putting 360 jobs at risk. Kellanova, the firm's owner, has said the Trafford Park factory could shut down by 2026.

The iconic 90-year-old factory that makes Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Coco Pops, is too old to modernise and that lots of the buildings at the site are already unused, the group said.

Consultation began today (Thursday, February 8), with Kellanova vowing that Greater Manchester "would remain its British home". 

The site runs for 24 hours a day making millions of boxes of cereal.

Kellanova’s UK managing director, Chris Silcock, said: “We know generations of families have worked at our Trafford Park site, and the proposal we are announcing today has nothing to do with the dedication of the outstanding people who work there.

“However, we can’t escape the fact the site opened in 1938. It’s laid out in a way that made sense in the 1930s, with food travelling up and down six floors to be made. With changes in industrial design and technology, you just wouldn’t lay out a factory like that nowadays.

“What’s more we only use half the space in the buildings and the investment required to maintain the factory in the coming years is simply not viable. That’s why we can’t currently see a long-term future for our Trafford Park factory.

“We know this will be difficult for many to hear and that’s why we now want to focus on our people. We will take the necessary time to discuss our proposals with our people and their representatives and show them how we will support them in the right way should this change happen.”

Kellanova employs more than 1,200 people across the UK, most of whom are not affected by today’s sad announcement at Trafford Park.

Kellanova has its UK headquarters and tech hub in MediaCity, alongside its cereal research and development site. Some 520 people work there and are not affected by today’s news.

Another 400 people work at the company’s distribution centre in St Helens, Merseyside, and at its factories in Wrexham. They are also unaffected by today’s news.