Doomed Burnley McBride’s workers offerd jobs lifeline in Nelson

It was revealed in July that McBride’s Burnley site in Windermere Avenue faced closure with the loss of 340 jobs.

Now Macaw Soft Drinks Ltd, at Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, has offered to take on some workers who face being made redundant in March.

The company, which has seen an increase in sales of its energy drinks in the last year, plans to take on 40 new staff.

Macaw HR manager Melanie Ashworth said: “We wanted to hold our recruitment drive in the local area as we feel strongly that local people should be given jobs which will in turn boost our area’s economy.

“We have seen an increase in sales of our energy drinks and need to recruit production shift workers, managers, supervisors, engineers and production operatives.”

Macaw, which employed 260 people, has now taken another 20 workers with 20 more posts to be filled.

The announced closure of McBride’s Burnley site sent shockwaves through the town as it had long been established as a major employer.

It was an especially bitter pill to swallow as the Burnley site was working at full capacity but had no space to expand.

Bosses at the multi-national McBride’s said it needed to cut operating costs. It has five factories across the North, producing household and personal cleaning products as own brands for leading supermarkets and lists Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Asda and Tesco among its clients.

The Burnley plant specialises in trigger cleaners, one of the company’s core growth areas.

McBride’s has posted a 42% drop in annual profits, after its performance was hit by higher raw material costs.

In the year to June, pre-tax profits fell by 76% to £7.1m. as it accounted for the costs of an efficiency drive, including £9.2m. for the expected loss of 340 positions through the planned closure of the Burnley factory. Production will be switched to other plants in the North-West, McBride’s said.