A consultation process is underway to determine the future of the Caledonian Bottlers factory in Cumnock.

The factory is part of the SHS Group who work at producing consumer goods.

Staff at the factory were made aware that changes were afoot, with many fearing that redundancy was on the cards.

While the group said no staff have been made redundant, it has revealed that staff are being kept in the loop about what decisions will be made.

Improving efficiency at the factory is key to SHS group's plans moving forward- which would include having to improve the factory.

However, they say that the potential price of these upgrades are "uneconomical".

An SHS spokesperson said: "Caledonian Bottlers has been part of the SHS family since 1994 and has successfully supported product manufacture, but now requires significant investment to improve facility efficiency. 

"The associated development costs have been deemed uneconomical, given volatile inflationary pressures.

"As part of the process of considering alternative options which can deliver long-term supply chain security, an organisational change consultation has been initiated, which will run for a number of weeks." 

They added: "The team at Caledonian Bottlers were informed of this development on Friday, September 9. All staff are being asked and supported to share their views.  Full engagement with the consultation process will ensure it is as comprehensive as possible.

"At this stage it would be inappropriate to comment further on the consultation process until it has concluded."

One member of staff at the bottlers factory has said that a meeting between workforce and representatives tookplace this week, with staff being asked if they would leave the factory in December, or work until March.