Clarks to end UK manufacture
Final UK factory to close in April
Shoe manufacturer and retailer Clarks is ending UK production after 175 years.
The company is to close its last UK shoe factory, at Ilminister in Somerset, as it shifts the last of its production to factories in India, China, and Romania.
The company said the move is vital to ensure that the business remains financially viable, as UK production costs continue.
Clarks, which produces 39m pairs of shoes a year, created an industry in Somerset in the 19th century, with the Clark family building a village for employees at Street in Somerset which was seen as a model of enlightened labour practice.
The company first began outsourcing production overseas 15 years ago, and has subsequently shed thousands of UK workers. The closure of Ilminster will see 90 jobs lost.
