Haribo plans to cut jobs at Pontefract

Confectionery manufacturer Haribo has confirmed that it wants to abolish jobs at one of its UK factories in Yorkshire.

The German-owned company employs 732 people in locations in Castelford and Pontefract, but declined to say how many jobs it was likely to last.

A local councilor said he learned about 200 jobs could go to Pontefract.

The company said it is facing an increasingly competitive market and rising costs and has started consulting.

Tom Gordon, a board member of the Liberal Democrats on the Wakefield Council, said he understood employees that employees were told of a possible job loss on Friday.

“A number of residents have already been in contact and are very concerned about what that means for them and their families,” he said.

Gordon said the district could not afford a job loss of this magnitude.

Haribo UK managing director John Hughes said the decision was designed to protect the company’s long-term future in Yorkshire, and was not taken lightly.

“The UK has become a manufacturing center of excellence in Haribo’s global network. But to protect this site, we must respond to exponentially increasing costs and highly competitive market demands,” he said.

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