A MAJOR food firm plans to axe more than 400 jobs and close a factory as part of a shake-up of its operations.

Burton’s Foods said its premises at Moreton, Wirral, which makes Jammie Dodgers and Wagon Wheels, is to close with the loss of 342 jobs, while 70 redundancies are proposed at a factory in Llantarnam, near Newport, South Wales.

The company said it was responding to an “increasingly challenging and competitive environment” – adding that it was investing £7m in Llantarnam and another site in Edinburgh.

Union Unite said workers were “devastated” by the news and added that the planned redundancies “give the lie” to the Government’s claims that the private sector will create the jobs which will lead the UK to economic recovery.

Burton’s said the announcement formed part of a new £25m three-year capital spending programme to improve production facilities – allowing the company to continue making the vast majority of its products in the UK.

Chief executive Ben Clarke said: “The proposed job losses are deeply regrettable but, along with the new £25m investment we are making in our UK manufacturing capability, will help deliver sustainable profitable growth for the company in a highly competitive and challenging market.”