Morrisons: More than 450 jobs at risk at Bradford packing site

The supermarket said 456 jobs are at risk at its Cutler Heights site

Morrisons plans to shut a fruit-packing plant in Bradford, putting 450 jobs at risk in its home city.

The supermarkets group will merge its Cutler Heights facility with another site in Thrapston, Northamptonshire later in the year, a spokesperson said.

The move will create more than 400 new jobs at the Thrapston plant and a Wakefield distribution centre.

However, Bradford South MP Judith Cummins said the closure was "terrible news" for Bradford and the staff there.

The Cutler Heights centre was the company's first produce site and supplies 59 fruit products and 115 million packs of fruit a year, including grapes, tomatoes, peaches, plums, salad and citrus fruit.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "Recent investment in the Thrapston site has created more capacity and space which has made consolidation of the two sites possible."

They said the decision to merge the two centres at one location had been made "after very careful review and evaluation".

The move puts 456 jobs at risk of redundancy and the company said it would try to employ those staff at other Morrisons manufacturing, logistics and retail sites nearby.

The centre on Cutler Heights Lane was the supermarket's first produce site

The company plans to turn the Cutler Heights site into a pet food manufacturing centre but said this would take time.

Ms Cummins, whose Bradford South constituency covers the site on Cutler Heights Lane, said: "This is terrible news for Bradford and the hundreds of staff who are worried about their future.

"I have been in contact with Morrisons about this announcement and I will work with the [Department for Work and Pensions] and trade unions to support those workers affected."