Redundancies made by Northampton shoe factory left long-standing employee hurt by decision

Recent redundancies made by a Northampton shoe factory have left long-standing employees, who have committed much of their working lives to the company, hurt by the decision to let them go.

Church’s, which was first established in 1873 and is now located in St James’ Road, has played an important role in the town’s thriving boot and shoe industry over the decades.

However, one employee – among the alleged 50 people who have been made redundant last month – has been left disappointed by how the company has handled things.

60-year-old Gary Clarke, from Rothwell, Northamptonshire, worked at Church’s for 44 years and was made redundant on March 31.

He told this newspaper there was a wave of redundancies around three months ago, of around 15 to 20 employees and this included those working in the offices.

Gary also says around another 50 people, including himself, were made redundant at the end of last month.

The 60-year-old, who first started working for Church’s in March 1979 when he was just 16, said: “There are now a total of around 120 employees left, and there used to be 400.

“I gave 44 years of my working life to the company and it is such a shame. All other boot and shoe companies seem to be proposering, but not Church’s.

“It’s heartbreaking and I know others are in the exact same situation as me.”

From what began as a small family workshop based in Maple Street, now occupies its six-storey long-time headquarters in St James’ Road.

The building was acquired in 1967 and was restored by The Prada Group, who now own the luxury English shoe business.

“It has only been over the past two years that drastic action, like these redundancies, has been taken,” said Gary. “This used to be a family company making quality shoes.”

The former employees, who have now been made redundant, are being represented by a union and have been in regular contact with the Jobcentre about what they will do next.

Gary said: “A lot of us don’t have plans in place.”

When approached for comment by Chronicle & Echo, a statement was issued on behalf of the Church’s company.

It read: “We can confirm that, following a consultation process, we have had to make a number of redundancies.

“We remain committed to further developing Church’s industrial heritage in Northampton as we secure the long-term strength of the business.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and reflects the challenging global environment in which we are operating. We continue to support all employees affected.”

This newspaper also asked The Prada Group to confirm how many employees had been made redundant from the Church’s site in St James’ Road in the recent spout of layoffs – as well as since April 2020 – and it was not provided.

The company was also asked to confirm the exact reason why the redundancies had been made, if there was anything they would like to say to the long-standing employees who have been laid off, and how many employees now remain working at the St James’ Road site.

These points were not responded to in the statement provided.