Burberry: Castleford factory set to be hit as fashion giant confirms 1,700 job cuts in 'sad blow' for Wakefield town
Plans by fashion giant Burberry to cut 1,700 jobs, many of which are expected to be at its factory in Castleford, will be a “sad, sad blow”, Union bosses have said.
The luxury fashion brand has announced cuts today (Wednesday), saying that they will be made globally and carried out over the next two years.
Part of the proposals include dropping the nightshift at the Castleford factory. Wakefield Express reports that this result in 150 jobs being lost at the site.
GMB Union has responded to the news, with organiser Darren Travis saying: “This is a sad, sad blow for these workers and Castleford itself.
“Burberry is the towns biggest employer and a third of the workforce are going.
“GMB calls on Burberry to work with us to ensure non of the redundancies are compulsory and that support packages are in place for these workers.”
Around 635 employees are based at the site on Albion Street, near to the town centre.
The job cuts form part of a wider cost-cutting drive at Burberry, with the company announcing plans to double its savings target to £100 million a year by the 2027 financial year.
The majority of the Burberry job reductions are expected to come from head office roles in Leeds and London.