Greggs has confirmed its Twickenham bakery is to close as part of a nationwide plan to centralise its resources.
The factory, which is located in Gould Road near Twickenham Green, is one of three Greggs bakeries to close, with the others in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, and Edinburgh.
The closures are likely to lead to the loss of 355 jobs, with 206 up for redundancy in Twickenham alone - some drivers have been offered the option to relocate to Enfield.
The firm is moving away from being a “traditional, decentralised bakery” and will invest £100m over five years to open a centre of excellence at its Clydesmill bakery in Glasgow.
A spokesman told BBC News that it recently acquired a new factory in Enfield to create a similar focal point in the south-east.
They'll get a nice lot of flats on that big site in Twickenham near the railway .... https://t.co/9WhTpkGIna
— Goth on a Brompton (@GothOnABrompton) March 1, 2016
They said: "Greggs currently operates from 12 bakeries; unfortunately not all are suitable for long-term investment due to their location and size.
"These are difficult changes that we believe are needed to support the long-term growth of the business.
“However our immediate priority is to work to minimise the negative impact on our people, many of whom have worked in these roles for a significant number of years.
Will miss the doughnut smells; won't miss the trucks stuck on narrow #Twickenham roads cc. @chongy76 https://t.co/huWoMBbqQn
— Roger Crouch (@RogerCrouch1) March 1, 2016
Twickenham Greggs bakery earmarked for closure. No more donut smells wafting over the Green? https://t.co/l36Eaop2ib
— Fran Perrow (@mediafran) March 1, 2016
"Wherever possible we would look to offer alternative employment to affected employees but, due to the location of our sites, we anticipate that unfortunately many will leave the business."
"Our recently-acquired distribution facility in London will enable us to invest in our Enfield bakery to create a manufacturing centre of excellence in the south-east region and we now propose to invest in the extension of our Clydesmill bakery in Glasgow to create a centre of excellence in Scotland.”
Greggs is the UK's biggest bakery chain, with 2,000 outlets.
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