Greggs explains factory closure proposals as about 740 jobs face consultation

Greggs said on 30 September 2026 that it had begun a consultation exercise on proposals to close four UK manufacturing sites, potentially making about 740 roles redundant over two and a half years. The bakery chain says the changes would make its production network more efficient as it expands, but it has made no final decision on the closures or job losses.

An earlier NewsJaws report covered the proposed closures and jobs at risk. Greggs’ trading update sets out the company’s reasons for the plan, its projected costs and savings, and the consultation it says will shape the final proposals.

Why Greggs wants to change its manufacturing network

In its Q3 trading update, Greggs said it had reviewed where its future manufacturing should be located. It described its own manufacturing and logistics network as a strength, but said relocating parts of production would help it meet the capacity needs of a growing shop estate at lower cost. The company says it is investing in capacity to serve at least 3,500 shops and expects that expansion to create jobs elsewhere in the business.

Chief executive Roisin Currie told PA Media that Greggs needed to examine how it operates to remain efficient and deliver value to customers. She described the proposed changes as a way to prepare the business for the future. Those are the company’s stated reasons for the plan; the proposed closures and projected savings have yet to be settled through consultation.

Which Greggs sites could close or change

The plan reaches beyond those four sites. PA Media reported that manufacturing at Treforest in Wales would be affected, although the site would continue as a distribution centre. Greggs would also reduce the range of products made at Clydesmill in Glasgow and at Manchester, stop producing tinned bread at Gosforth, and source a small number of products from specialist suppliers.

STV News reported that members of the Usdaw union at Greggs’ Clydesmill Bakery in Cambuslang had been briefed about the possibility of redundancies. The eventual number of affected roles at each site has not been established by the company’s update or the available reporting.

What the proposals mean for workers

Greggs says about 740 roles could become redundant over two and a half years. It said it would work with trade unions and employee representatives to refine the proposals, with consultation with those affected to begin shortly. PA Media reported that the changes would take place no earlier than the second quarter of 2027. Greggs has not given a specific date for the consultation to finish or confirmed individual worker outcomes.

Sarah Woolley, general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, said the union was deeply concerned about the risk to workers’ jobs, families and communities. She questioned why livelihoods were being put at risk while Greggs was reporting growth and investing in expansion, saying the workers who had helped build the business should not be ‘dropped like stones’.

Greggs’ projected costs and savings

Greggs estimates the proposed changes would require about £60 million in cash costs. Its trading update says that includes about £40 million in capital expenditure, as well as disruption costs and redundancy payments. It projects roughly £20 million in annual pre-tax operating-cost savings once the programme is complete, with those savings expected across its 2028 and 2029 financial years. These figures are company forecasts, not costs incurred or savings already achieved.

The proposal comes alongside stronger sales. Greggs reported total sales growth of 7.7% in the 13 weeks to 26 September compared with a year earlier, while like-for-like sales at company-managed shops rose 3.4%. It attributed the improvement partly to new menu products and more settled weather in August and September.

The company reported 2,796 shops trading on 26 September, following 57 net new openings so far in 2026. It still expects 100 to 110 net new shops for the full year. Greggs said it expected like-for-like cost inflation of about 2% in 2026, while seeing signs of greater pressure in 2027.

For workers, the immediate next step is consultation on the proposals. The final closure decisions, site-by-site changes and number of redundancies remain open. Greggs’ case for the reorganisation rests on future capacity and efficiency; the unions’ response centres on what that transition could mean for the people currently making its products.