THE European Commission has told tea maker Twinings it will not be handed £10m to relocate North East jobs to Poland.
The firm sparked controversy when in 2009 it told 286 Tyneside workers they would lose their jobs and work would move to a new factory in Poland.
It later emerged this would be paid for by a £10m taxpayer-funded EU grant.
Twinings have now confirmed it has not met the criteria for the grant.
The withdrawal of the funding comes after unions and politicians met with leading European Commissioners to stress the cash handout was strictly against the rules.
Twinings has always insisted it did not plan its move based on receiving the cash, and is still to go ahead with the closure of the North Shields factory.
Last month the European Commissioner in charge of regional policy, Johannes Hahn, came to Newcastle and said he was still hopeful of recovering the cash, as others continued to argue for a change in the law.
He had already ordered the Polish Government to review the paperwork behind the grant to make sure the rules were followed.
Last night European MP for the North East Stephen Hughes welcomed Mr Hahn’s insistence that the Polish Government does not allow the grant to go ahead.
He said: “I’m pleased to hear that Twinings will not receive the £10m European Regional Development Fund grant to set up the facility in Poland.
“Though it might not cause them to change their minds over shifting production and jobs from Tyneside to Poland, at least it means they will not be doing it with a subsidy from European taxpayers – you, me and the Tyneside workers.
“The series of meetings and delegations I led with EU Commissioners Hahn and Andor, responsible for Regional Policy and Employment, paid off in this respect.”
Twinings, which has manufactured tea for more than 30 years, wants to move production to China in order to take advantage of the growing popularity of tea in Asian markets, and says it sees Poland as a more central location for its European expansion. The company says it plans to invest £6m in its Hampshire operation, which was also set to be affected by the move to Poland. AB Foods, which owns the company, plans to open the new £27m site in Poland later this year.
A spokesman for Twinings said: “Our decision to build a new factory in Poland was not based on receiving any external funding.
“It is normal practice for businesses to review potential available grants and where relevant apply for them if they support the development of their business.
“We can confirm that we have been notified that Twinings Poland does not meet the criteria for a grant. As previously stated, our investment plan was not reliant upon receiving any grant and the project continues.
“We applied for the grant because we considered that we did satisfy the conditions, but accept that the decision as to eligibility lies with the relevant authorities.
“It is important to stress that Twinings remains committed to the UK and more than 90% of the tea British customers drink will continue to be produced here in the UK.”
