Greggs (GRG.L) has announced plans to close four manufacturing sites across the UK, including a long-established factory in Kelso in the Scottish Borders.
The high street bakery chain said the proposed closures will take place over the next two-and-a-half years, affecting around 740 jobs in total.
Sites earmarked for closure include Pettigrews in Kelso, Enfield in Greater London, North Lakes near Penrith in Cumbria, and Seaham in County Durham.
Greggs also plans to reduce production at its Clydesmill site near Glasgow and in Manchester, and will halt tinned bread manufacturing at Gosforth.
The company said the overhaul will cost around £60 million, including disruption costs and redundancy payments, but is expected to save approximately £20 million across the 2028 and 2029 financial years.
Kelso and district councillor Euan Robson said the announcement came as a “bit of a shock” and expressed sympathy for affected workers.
He said: “Greggs is a very good business and apparently doing well, but it will be a sad day if the factory does close because it’s been here for a very long time.”
Robson added: “It’s been a very valued business in the local community; it employs quite a number of people, and thoughts today are really with them because it’s an uncertain future.”
The Pettigrews factory has had a presence in Kelso since 1968, making it a significant long-term employer in the small rural town.
Robson noted that while the factory is not large, “it does employ a considerable number of folk for a small town and community like we have in the rural Borders, so any job loss is to be regretted.”
He said local representatives would be engaging with enterprise bodies, Scottish ministers, and Greggs directly to explore options, including whether the decision could be reversed or alternative employment found.
Sarah Woolley, general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, said the union was “deeply concerned” by the announcement, warning it places “hundreds of workers and their livelihoods at risk.”
Woolley pointed out that Greggs itself acknowledged the business “continues to perform strongly” and that “more customers are choosing Greggs than ever before.”
Greggs employs around 33,000 people across the UK, with the vast majority working in its retail stores rather than manufacturing.
The company confirmed it will shortly begin a formal consultation process with affected workers and their union representatives, stressing that “no final decisions have been made.”
Conservative MSP Rachael Hamilton, representing Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, called the announcement “deeply disappointing” and warned it could worsen depopulation in the Borders region.
Hamilton said: “The factory has been a fixture in Kelso for decades and the loss of this site will have a knock-on effect across the local economy.”
Liberal Democrat MSP Duncan Dunlop said he had written to Cabinet Secretary Stephen Flynn requesting a meeting to discuss what support the Scottish Government could provide to help prevent the closure.
Scottish Borders Council confirmed that employability services are available for anyone requiring support and can be accessed through its website.
