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Manufacturing

Chard's Oscar Mayer factory to shut, putting 860 jobs at risk

"We believe we have exhausted every avenue to continue future production"

Oscar Mayer is in Chard, Somerset(Image: Google)

Hundreds of jobs are being put at risk at a food factory in Somerset after bosses announced plans to close the site.

Oscar Mayer, which employs 860 people in Chard, is planning to relocate its business to other parts of the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ during the next 12 months.

Chiefs at the food company said they would launch a redundancy consultation on November 10.

A spokesperson said "significant action" was needed to "protect the long-term future of the group".

Chard was picked for closure because the site is in need of refurbishment and the investment was not deemed "financially viable", according to BusinessLive's sister site .

The company said that in an attempt to save local jobs, management looked at developing alternative sites – such as at Millfield – but this was not ruled feasible.

Francois Legrain, chief executive of Oscar Mayer said consulting on a potential closure had been a "desperately difficult" decision to come to.

He said: "We believe we have exhausted every avenue to continue future production at Chard, and currently we are unable to see a way to make the economics of this site work in such a challenging market.