Wet wipe factory closure sees 200 jobs lost

A nappy and wet wipes manufacturer has announced the closure of its two factories, meaning more than 200 people will lose their jobs.

Kimberly-Clark, based in Flint, said it could not meet the UK government's deadline to remove plastic from wet wipes by mid-2026.

Unite condemned the decision and called for additional time, saying it would be "catastrophic" for the town.

In a statement, Kimberly-Clark said its inability to meet the deadline meant it was "no longer viable to keep our consumer and B2B sites operational".

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite will fight to reverse this decision and calls upon the government to intervene to try and save these vital jobs.

"This decision, taken so rashly, cannot be accepted."

Unite wants more time for manufacturers to produce environmentally-friendly alternatives to avoid job losses.

Labour MP for Alyn and Deeside, Mark Tami, said he was in conversation with workers, unions and the Welsh government and hoped a company could potentially take over the site.

The UK government announced new legislation to ban wet wipes containing plastic in April 2024 in hopes to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution.

The Welsh government, which has proposed a similar ban, said: "We stand ready to offer support to the workforce affected by this decision."

Both factories, which make a range of paper products, will close in 2025 and the manufacturing of bathroom wipes at Kimberly-Clark is expected to move to Germany.

The firm said: "While phasing out plastics from our baby wipes is a key part of K-C’s sustainability plans, it isn’t possible to adapt our manufacturing processes in Flint in time.

"Decisions that involve our employees are the hardest to make and we know this is a challenging period for our team."