Jobs under threat at Walkers crisp factories

PepsiCo said it was consulting with workers at a number of its Walkers factories

A union has said it "will fight for every job" at crisp company Walkers, after owner PepsiCo announced it was consulting on major restructuring plans.

The BBC understands changes are being proposed at Walkers' four largest sites – Leicester, Coventry, Lincoln and Skelmersdale.

A spokesperson for the firm said: "No decisions will be made without first consulting affected employees and their representatives."

Unite national officer Paul Travers said: "Unite will be offering support to our members at this difficult time."

Last year, PepsiCo said it employed more than 2,100 people in the Midlands region.

The firm is yet to disclose how many jobs could be affected by the proposed changes.

In a statement, PepsiCo said: "We recently told our teams that we will be consulting on proposed changes to our operational structure, affecting a proportion of employees at our snacks manufacturing sites in the UK.

"Our priority is providing support for our people throughout this process."

The changes were intended to bring the factories "in line with a different operating structure at some of our other international sites", and would lead to "better ways of working and increased technical capabilities".

The Lincoln plant is one of four sites affected by the proposals

Unite confirmed it had members across all four sites.

Mr Travers said: "We will now be entering consultations and fighting for every job.

"Unite will ensure our members' best interests are the priority, including negotiating against compulsory redundancies and for the best possible severance packages for those wishing to take voluntary redundancy."

In 2021, PepsiCo announced a £24m investment at the Lincoln factory – which makes 500-million packs of Quavers a year – to upgrade the facilities to meet growing consumer demand.

That was followed by a £58m investment for the Leicester site, which is one of the world's biggest crisp and snack factories, in 2023.

In 2024, PepsiCo announced a £13m investment in the Coventry facility, which the company said was Europe largest tortilla chip-making factory.

At the time, the firm said the investment "reaffirmed" its commitment to the region.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices