The decision to close the operation was made after the company reached agreement with the GPMU following a 90-day consultation period (PrintWeek, 12 April).
Mike Griffiths, the GPMU’s national officer said that a number of employees believe they may be entitled to further redundancy compensation under an agreement with previous owner Field Group. He added that the GPMU would be investigating this possibility.
The 120-employee plant, had 110 GPMU members. Around 80 workers have been offered the chance to transfer to the group’s other sites at Birmingham and Newcastle.
Chesapeake wants to concentrate its UK capacity in the sector at the two sites, where it plans to develop the operations further.
Story by Andy Scott
