A ‘NUMBER’ of redundancies are set to be made at a factory in Wellington.

Owners of the KDC/One Swallowfield Factory, which makes health and beauty care products, have announced plans to lose some employees as part of a ‘company-wide strategic review’.

The move comes after the factory was acquired by KDC/One last year.

A spokesperson said: “The development is designed to strengthen the resilience of the business in the highly competitive cosmetics and beauty sector and respond to the constantly growing expectations and changing purchasing patterns of consumers

“Due to the changes, consultation will soon commence with the employees at risk of redundancy at the Wellington site on Station Road. Further positions are also at risk at KDC/One’s other UK plant in Bideford, Devon, which also formed part of the acquisition of the manufacturing division of Swallowfield, and will see its colour cosmetics pencils production operation transferred to Northern France.

In addition to acquiring the manufacturing division of Swallowfield plc in 2019, KDC/One also purchased the Alkos Group, a cosmetics manufacturer in France which comprises Inter Cosmétiques, Sagal Cosmétiques and Alkos Cosmétiques that operate from three manufacturing sites in France.

The company says it ‘regrets’ the timing of the announcement during the Covid-19 crisis.

KDC/One Europe President Matthew Gazzard said: “This strategic review of our European businesses has been underway since last November. While the decision to make changes in operational personnel at Wellington has not been an easy one, it is necessary to move the business forward and continue to innovate and meet customer expectations in a highly demanding and competitive marketplace.

“We will be working closely with work representatives to ensure all our affected employees have access to the support they need during this time. I realise this will not be an easy time for many and I very much regret that.”

Despite the regrets, the company has stated the changes are not in response to the pandemic, nor Brexit.

Mr Gazzard added: “We want to stress that this refocussing of the company’s operations is in no way a response to the Covid-19 pandemic or Brexit. We had been strategically reviewing the business structure for many months following our acquisitions in Europe last year before the pandemic arose, albeit the events of recent months requires the company, as with all businesses, to build additional resilience into its operational model.”