Tollcross residents react as plans confirmed to close Glasgow McVitie's factory

pladis, the global snack company, announced yesterday that they would press ahead with closure plans after launching a consultation in May.

The plant, which opened in 1925, has employed generations of families in the East End, providing secure, unionised and well-paying jobs. 

READ MORE: Glasgow politicians including David Linden and Thomas Kerr react as pladis confirm McVitie's factory closure

Workers found out on Tuesday evening that they would be losing their jobs after pladis, who owns the factory, had rejected rescue plans put forward by trade unions GMB and Unite along with the Scottish Government.

Paul Smith who has worked at McVities for nearly 15 years said it felt like the final nail in the coffin. He said: “It’s just awful. We were expecting it, I think we all were. They were just going to keep moving the goalposts. I think they had already decided. 

“We worked through the pandemic for them. It’s the end of era.”

Paul thanked members of the public for their support over the last three months.

He added: “We had the people behind us. It’s a sad, sad day. The factory is a grand old lady. I’m just gutted, I’m all over the place with it. It was that kind of nail in the coffin.”

Paul was also involved in the grassroots campaign to save jobs at the factory called “Save Our Jobs McVities Tollcross” who launched a petition which attracted almost 80,000 signatures and led several days of action at the Forge Shopping Centre as well as outside Marks and Spencer on Argyle Street.

READ MORE: pladis press ahead with Glasgow McVitie's factory closure

Now the factory is set to close, local residents are worried there will be less employment opportunities in the area. Bridget McGuire said the closure was “scandalous”. She added: “This area has suffered quite a lot with job losses and things like that so I think it’s a big big loss to the area.

"I think everything should be done to try and save it, to be honest. People are suffering enough just now without them losing their jobs as well. How are they going to get another job?” 

Gavin McLeish, a Tollcross resident

Gavin McLeish lives close to the factory has relatives who work at McVitie’s who will be out of a job. He said: “I’ve got relatives who work there and. My stepbrother works there and that will be him, that’ll be his final job.

"He’s coming up for retirement next year. His son works there as well and that’ll be the two of them out of a job. It has got an effect on people locally that you know.

“I’ve noticed there’s a lot of agency workers there now.

“It was always going to come but hopefully someone will take that on. When you look at local producers, they are struggling for space. 

“From our point of view, it’s sad because it’s been there so long.

Gavin said he will miss the smell of the biscuits being baked which can be smelled across Tollcross. He added: “They used to make a coconut lime and you could smell the coconut wafting through your house.”

Douglas Gallagher from Balornock said: “I think it’s ridiculous the amount of people that work in it.

Douglas Gallacher from Balornock

"It’s one of the biggest places in the area for employment so why are they changing everything? They’ve let it run down a bit.

“The poor guys who have worked there 25-30 years. Where are they going to get another job?”

Margaret Stevenson who lives locally said she would boycott the company. She said: “We’ve lost so many other places that are big employers with the likes of Debenhams and everything that’s been shut.

“We’re selling everything off to other countries, we don’t have anything of our own.

“I’ll never buy another McVitie’s biscuit and I’ve heard other people saying that as well.”

The move has also attracted widespread political condemnation as representatives from Labour, the SNP and the Tories hit out at the confirmed closure.

Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar called the news “devastating”. He said: “This is devastating news, which will be felt sorely by both the factory’s workforce and the wider community. 

“McVities workers have been let down throughout this process by Pladis’ refusal to engage in good faith to find alternatives to closure.

“With almost 500 jobs on the line, it is not good enough to simply give up on the site’s future. The Scottish Government must pull out every stop to save the factory and protect these vital jobs.”

Member of Parliament for Glasgow East, David Linden said:”The news that Pladis has outrightly rejected the substantial and comprehensive counter-proposal put forward by the Action Group, which was formed by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council, is bitterly disappointing and a hammer blow for the East end.

David Linden, MP for Glasgow East

“I gave the company the benefit of the doubt when it said it would engage meaningfully with the process however its actions over the past few months have shown that it had little intention of acting in good faith.”

The GMB union who represent workers at the factory said there needed to be “honest answers” from pladis. GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Hazel Nolan said: “It seems clear now that pladis had no intention of engaging in good faith over the future of Tollcross – General Manager Jim Cuthbert told us they “expected more” from the counter-proposals but offered no specific comment on what “more” would look like. 

GMB Scotland statement following the announcement from @pladis_Global this morning confirming their intention to proceed with the closure of the @McVities site in Tollcross, Glasgow. pic.twitter.com/MulokfJ9vk

— GMB Scotland (@GMBScotOrg) August 11, 2021

“That’s not good enough. If pladis are walking away from this community after nearly a century of production, and after eighteen months of constant manufacturing during this COVID-19 pandemic, the very least the workforce deserve is honest answers. 

“That honesty is also needed for the members of the Action Group because if a firm like pladis no longer sees Scotland as a viable place to do business, then everyone needs to understand why and what must be done to prevent further manufacturing decline.”

Managing director of pladis UK and Ireland, David Murray said: “We know this news will be difficult for our colleagues at Tollcross, so it is with regret that we announce our intention to proceed with the proposal to close the site.

"Our priority is to provide employees with the on-going support they need as we continue with the consultation.  

“pladis is home to some of Britain’s best loved brands which have been part of the fabric of our society for nearly two hundred years.  In order to protect them for generations to come, we must take steps to address excess capacity in the UK.”