Assembly Bakery owner: ‘It’s a shame that some staff feel the need to strike’

One of the owners of the bakery where staff are currently on strike has said that he and his fellow director and shareholders are “simply doing our best to keep this popular little local bakery open”.

James Dingle, a director of The Assembly Bakery in Old Market, which also has a shop at Cargo 2 in Wapping Wharf, said that he understands the frustrations of staff who are losing their jobs.

But he said that a smaller team gives the chance for the business on West Street to survive, with the “baseless strike unfortunately (moving) us closer to insolvency which will sadly mean the loss of everyone’s jobs”.

Here is Dingle’s statement in full:

“We met with the team on Wednesday and explained in detail that the business was suffering. The principle cause is the same faced by many businesses, that of the availability of staff to keep the business open. We knew our position was not sustainable and after exploring various options relating to a sale or a merger, we are trying to reinvent the business with a smaller offering and a smaller team. The staff chosen to be part of the future model are those we believe best suited to making the new model work.

“Unfortunately this meant we had to give notice to four members of the team. Some are entitled to one week and others are entitled to a months notice but the correct notice periods are absolutely being honoured. Emails were sent to each individual on Thursday morning (within 24 hours of the team meeting) to explain what this meant for them, why we couldn’t use the furlough scheme and offering them the opportunity to discuss joining other businesses with whom we have relations in the city. We set up a WhatsApp group to promote communication and have invited people to one-to-one meetings next week to see if we can help them in their next career move. So far they have not engaged with any of our attempts at maintaining dialogue.

“I understand their frustrations. No-one wants to lose their job. But the owners have behaved professionally and appropriately at every stage, making difficult decisions at the right times and ensuring everyone impacted has their contracts honoured, is informed in writing and is treated fairly.

“It’s a shame that some of them feel the need to strike. I don’t know what more we could have done. This is a very difficult time for many businesses. As a small business we operate on tight margins and, as owners, have never taken any profits from the business in six years of operations. We are simply doing our best to keep this popular little local bakery open as it’s an important part of the Old Market community. We have a chance with a slimmed down team but every day we are closed due to a baseless strike unfortunately moves us closer to insolvency which will sadly mean the loss of everyone’s jobs, not just the four we had to lose this week.

“The real story here is not the one being told in the press but just another example of a small business likely to go under because of the pressure put upon us by Brexit and Covid. And it won’t be the last.”

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: Punters left perplexed as Propyard pulls the plug a week early

Listen to the latest episode of the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: