Coveris to shed 18 jobs

Coveris Burnley, formerly Learoyd Packaging, called workers into a meeting last week to tell them the shock news.

One disgruntled worker contacted the Express to say that morale had plummeted at the long-standing company in Netherwood Road, which was bought out by Coveris in 2014.

The worker, who did not want to be named, said: “A lot of the workers have been very loyal so this was a shock. Morale has really gone down as we seem to have lost some big customers recently.

“It used to be a nice place to work before but it’s not now.”

Learoyd was formed in 1976 and initially specialised in paper and plastic bags for the textile industry, before moving into the flexible food packaging market and developing a customer base that include big high street retailers.

Coveris blamed challenging market conditions as behind the job cuts.

Paul Fox, general manager, said: “Coveris has commenced a consultation period on proposals for the strategic restructuring of our finishing facilities in Burnley.

“Trading conditions for our industry are tough at present, and are likely to become increasingly challenging. In this difficult economic climate, it is vital that we respond quickly to the challenges we face to secure a long-term future for the facility. This has meant a review of our work profile and customer base in Burnley.

“We are fully committed to our future in Burnley and have invested more than £3m into our factory facilities in the last 12 months.

“Regrettably, however, it is it is necessary to consult staff over possible changes to working patterns and up to 18 redundancies at the site, as well as transferring the management of ink supply on site to our strategic business partner, Flint Inks.”