A PORTISHEAD factory is expected to close next April with the loss of 200 jobs. On July 7, workers at Cauldron Foods, in Old Mill Road, which makes vegetarian and organic convenience foods, were told that bosses were planning to move production elsewhere.

A PORTISHEAD factory is expected to close next April with the loss of 200 jobs.On July 7, workers at Cauldron Foods, in Old Mill Road, which makes vegetarian and organic convenience foods, were told that bosses were planning to move production elsewhere.Since then, staff representatives have been consulted in a bid to identify any other viable options.But Brian Carlton, director of human resources for Premier Foods, which bought Cauldron Foods last year, said that they could see 'no alternative' to the factory's imminent closure, and added: "We would not have tabled this proposal if we saw any real alternative."We're about to start dialogue with each employee which will take a few weeks. Once we've done that, we'll know where we stand."A lot of companies announce redundancies and shut down very quickly, but we're giving people a long period of advance notice."Premier Foods has nine other factories in the UK. The nearest are in Devon and Staffordshire.Managers will be talking to staff about possible relocation.Once the Portishead factory closes, products currently made there will be produced at its site in Methwold, Norfolk, where there is scope to increase production.