 HP Sauce workers facing the axe after decades of service were reduced to tears as cranes were brought in to remove machinery at the Aston factory. Long-serving staff were left tearful when Heinz bosses ordered the removal of a bottling line to Holland - with the closure date still more than four months off. Meanwhile, the pay-off terms for workers were revealed, with staff qualifying for four weeks' pay for every year of service -plus a £6,000 retainer if they stay on till the final day of the factory on March 23. One worker, who asked not to be named, said: "When the cranes turned up to take the machinery out, we realised it was the beginning of the end - morale is dropping by the second. "Jobs are being offered in Worcester but, for the vast majority of us, there is nothing. For 80 to 90 of us, there's no chance. "The new line that was installed less than two years ago is now being ripped out and is being taken to Holland. "Workers have had to stand and watch the cranes being brought in and some of them have been in tears. Reality is kicking in now." The worker said redundancy packages agreed with Heinz amounted to four weeks for every year of service. "We have also been offered £6,000 to stay on till March 23 but anybody who is off sick loses some of their retention money. "The majority of people are not happy with what is on offer. I think that Heinz could have offered us at least £15,000 on top of the redundancy." Heinz spokesman Nigel Dickie said: "I can confirm that all the lines are being taken out as planned and as discussed with the employees. That will take some weeks. "The redundancy terms are as generous as we can possibly make them. We wanted to make sure that we came to an arrangement which was as generous as possible." He confirmed retainer payments were being offered. "We anticipate that work will continue until March." The plan by Heinz to close the Aston factory sparked a major campaign across the region, supported by the Birmingham Mail, to save the plant, but in August the US group confirmed the site would shut next March with the loss of 125 jobs. What do you think? Contact www.birminghammail.net/news/yoursay | 
