Scottish & Newcastle has come in for criticism from trade union Unite following the announcement that more than 50 jobs are to go at its cider subsidiary Bulmers.

S&N, which was acquired earlier this year in a £7.8bn joint deal with brewing giants Heineken and Carlsberg, is closing its Bulmers bottling line in Hereford, with 54 staff set to be axed from a total workforce of around 350.

Production will be shifted to S&N’s Tadcaster facility in the northwest.

Unite criticised the move by S&N, which sees workers given just 30 days’ notice. The union claims the staff are entitled to a 90-day notice period.

“We have to question the decision of the management at group level in taking capacity out of the Hereford plant, as its cider product will now need to be transported by road to Tadcaster, adding to the global carbon foot print,” said Unite regional industrial officer Simon Powell.

“Unite and local management representatives have put proposals to the company that would save them well over £1m and make full use of the Bulmers bottling line, yet they have still chosen to move business out of the area. This makes no sense to us.”