Staff at one of Highbridge’s largest employers fear jobs could be lost as the company considers shutting its warehouse and moving out of the town.
Brakes Group has recently acquired a new depot in Portbury, which it says may affect its existing three warehouse sites at Highbridge, Bristol and Yate.
Staff at the Brakes food depot on Highbridge’s Isleport Industrial Estate are waiting to hear whether the Portbury move will affect them.
A Brakes spokeswoman told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “How this site will operate within the current UK network is subject to further planning. A collective consultation period has begun with colleagues at three depots within the region.”
“Although the company will consider all possible alternatives, one potential impact is that the three depots will be closed and the need to make redundancies could therefore arise.”
“The company is committed to avoiding redundancies where possible, reducing the number of employees affected and mitigating the consequences of any closure.”
“The full scope of how these sites will be affected is not yet confirmed. Once business decisions are formally approved for a site, specific consultation at that location will begin.”
“Brakes is committed to supporting its colleagues during this process; it is not anticipated that customers will be affected.”
Brakes will occupy a 250,763 sq ft former Asda cold store at Portbury. It has already agreed a deal for a 30-year lease of the site.
The warehouse comprises a purpose-built cold store facility, which was built in the early 1990s. It is located on a 17-acre site adjacent to junction 19 of the M5 motorway and was last occupied by Asda in September 2013.
