“We leave it, it’s far too expensive”: Clarks are about to close “cutting-edge plant” in Somerset

Too many expenses. Clarks are supposedly bound to give up their manufacturing in the United Kingdom as they are about to close the Morelight Manufacture plant, based in Somerset, where production is also carried out by robots. The news is being reported by the Telegraph: according to the newspaper, after missing the goals they had set themselves, the historic British company was compelled to reduce their hiring plans. They eventually took on only 49 employees (they expected to start 80 jobs), with whom the brand’s owner will be on the talks for 30 days. At the end of them, they could possibly close the factory. The plant, which started up a couple of years ago, should have manufactured, at full speed, around 300,000 pairs of desert boots a year. The British newspaper also reported a few announcements made by a Clarks spokesman: “Despite our efforts, we realize that production levels and expense goals we were hopeful about will not be achieved shortly. That is why we are suggesting that we should stop production and close the manufacturing factory”. The aim of the project, which cost millions of pounds, was to ensure higher flexibility along with innovation, while putting together, in the same site, design and manufacturing. One more aim was to reduce delivery times, thanks to automation.