Steve Brine is working with company and employees at Storck UK, makers of Bendicks chocolate in Winchester.
Bendicks chocolates have been made in Winchester for 30 years and they have been proudly owned by German company Storck UK since 1988.
Their factory in Winnall, near junction 9 of the M3, employs 115 people and is the UK HQ of Storck in this country. All sales and marketing functions are on the site as well as chocolate production.
News broke last week (on Thursday 3 March) that Storck were preparing to consult on possible changes to their operation at Winnall. The Managing Director (Thomas Huber) gave a presentation to staff in which he set out how the business in the UK is performing and why changes may be coming.
Speaking after his meeting this morning (Monday 7 March 2011) with Thomas Huber, Winchester, local MP Steve Brine said;
"The company took me through their predicament and the slump in the after dinner mint market here in the UK. I understand their parent company have been subsidising Bendicks, as a loss making part of the business, for a number of years and this is a situation they have to address.
"Employee representatives will be elected this week (on 11 March), after which a 30-day consultation will begin. I am told this is a genuine attempt by the company to address the problems it has in the UK market and involve staff in that process.
"I was obviously really disappointed to hear a move away from Winchester is even being considered by Storck and I know the news of a consultation came as quite a shock to employees last week.
"Of course I understand the company cannot remain here as an act of charity, they are a business at the end of the day and I know these are very challenging times for this sector of the confectionary market, but I would argue they have a high level of duty to the local workforce who have delivered high quality and loyal service to the company over many years.
"I stressed in the strongest possible terms to Storck at our meeting the positives they enjoy, as a European-wide company, by maintaining Winchester as their UK base. From a motivated workforce to excellent transport links, and the historical connections we are famous for, Winchester has so much to offer and they should be very careful before jeopardising that.
"If changes need to be made on the Winnall site we agreed to discuss them calmly with staff, unions as well as local business leaders and see if the business case for Winchester can be made. Storck have assured me there will be no rushing this process and they genuinely want to explore every option available to them. They owe us that much before any long-term decisions are taken and I will sticking to them like glue in the weeks ahead."
Further updates will be posted to this site as they become available.
Further information ...
Bendicks website www.bendicks.co.uk
Pictured; Storck UK HQ in Winnall, near Winchester.