MY Healthcare’s Thorpe consultation ends with 74 job losses

A 90-day consultation over the proposal not to rebuild the Surrey facility, which was first made in January, concluded this week. Some 15 staff have taken jobs elsewhere within MY Healthcare, while another five have taken jobs in other parts of parent company Nampak.

The company said that staff who had been made redundant had been given an “enhanced” package that was better than statutory redundancy but gave no further details on the terms.

A statement from MY Healthcare to Packaging News said that a rebuild for the plant, which burnt down last July, had been the preferred option following the fire but was “subsequently not found to be feasible in view of the loss of business and the length of time the project would have taken”.

It also moved to quash speculation that the fire was not an accident. “The Surrey Fire and Rescue Service states the supposed cause of the fire as accidental in its official report,” the company said.

MY Healthcare also categorically denied speculation that its Portsmouth factory had been set for closure prior to the fire at Thorpe. “This was never the case,” the company said.

However, the firm did not rule out further capacity reductions in its UK network. “In the current climate all businesses have to continually review the options to remain competitive”, it said.

In addition to the decision not to rebuild Thorpe, Nampak Cartons’ Crewkerne plant was closed in December. However, MY has invested in a new press for its Newmarket plant in recent months and also bought pharmaceutical cartons manufacturer Storey Evans just before Christmas.

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