Bakery set to shut plant and axe jobs amid economic pressures

FAMILY-RUN Welsh firm Brace's Bakery has confirmed plans to shut one of its factories and axe jobs amid rising costs and pressures within the bread market.

- ELLIE GOSLEY

Brace's Bakery, Pen-y-Fan Industrial Estate. Inset: Mark Brace, managing director, and his brother Jonathan Brace, director

Brace's wrote to its members of staff on Tuesday stating that as a result of "increasingly difficult" market conditions directors at the company had agreed the only "viable option" was to close its manufacturing plant on the Pen-y-Fan Industrial Estate in Blackwood.

Jonathan Brace, director of Brace's Bakery, told the Western Mail the company envisages there will be fewer than 20 redundancies.

The majority of staff are expected to move to the Croespenmaen site, which is located around a mile away.

Jonathan and Mark Brace said: "It will be very sad to see long-term loyal staff leave the business, but out of this we will be securing over 200 jobs."