Burberry To Shed 290 UK Jobs

Bad news for the employees at Burberry. The luxury clothing provider has announced plans to close down their Rotherham sewing plant. This decision is just one part of a larger reduction that will end 290 jobs.

The Rotherham plant had previously produced basic outerwear for Burberry. The closure will account for as many as 170 lost jobs. As many as 120 will come from Keighley and Castleford, the last remaining branches in the UK.

The rebuilding efforts will see most of the money going toward the Castleford plant. It produces the brand's famous trenchcoats.

Spain's Thomas Burberry line will also be closed as part of the move. 250 jobs will be cut. Tim Roache, GMB union regional officer, is very concerned with the fate of Rotherham. He spoke of plans for future talks with Burberry to try and maintain some of the jobs in the UK. Rotherham is a fairly poor area inside South Yorkshire, so the closure has understandably shocked the workers in the community. It was one of the largest job providers for the area.

Things have been rough for Burberry for awhile. In 2006 they had to close their Rhondda Valley factory and cut 300 jobs. They had recently reported that like-for-life sales were down by 3% over the last three months.

Total sales are up to £329m though. A figure up roughly 30% from their 2007 figures. Company officials stated that their stores' orders were below expectations though and that the full year's report would be at the low end of the spectrum.

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