NEARLY 50 jobs are to be lost at a Flintshire bakery following a takeover.

Earlier this month the Leader reported P&A Davies Ltd’s Hawarden bakery had been brought out of administration by bakers Frank Roberts and Sons.

At the time the company said they had made no decision regarding jobs, but would be undertaking a review of the business.

Now Roberts Bakery say they plan to axe 48 members of staff at the Hawarden bakery which, until last year, was based on Trafford Street, Newtown.

The company says it hopes to safeguard the remaining 45 jobs once consultation is completed on next Friday. Roberts has already transferred ten members of staff from the Hawarden factory to its base in Northwich to work in the pastry case, a division of the Roberts group.

A further 35 jobs will remain at the bakery.

As the mid-Cheshire bakers have not taken over P&A Davies’ six retail shops in Chester, they say this has had implications for the long term viability of the wholesale manufacturing operation, which also served the shops.

As a result, 48 factory staff are expected to be made redundant, with a proportion of these taking voluntary redundancy.

Mike Braddock, managing director of Frank Roberts and Sons, said: “We have spent the last few weeks working towards a solution that would safeguard as many jobs as possible, while providing a strong business model to take forward.

“Unfortunately the current economic climate, and the changes to the business resulting from the separation of the shops, means that we are unable to maintain current staffing levels. We will support those affected as much as we can in finding alternative employment.”

Nantwich based Chatwins bakery has taken over four out of the six retail shops in Chester, safeguarding 30 jobs.

The city centre Brook Street shop and the Lache shop closed, with the loss of 13 jobs.