LABOUR MP for Alyn and Deeside Mark Tami has confirmed a meeting has been arranged concerning the closing of Flint's Kimberly-Clark site.

On Tuesday, July 9 MP Mark Tami met with Unite Wales to discuss issues around the consultation on closing the Kimberly-Clark tissue factory on Aber Road in Flint.

The reason for the proposed closure of the site, which employs 220 people, is due to the UK Government's announcement on the banning of the sale of wet wipes which contain plastics.

Prior to the recent general election, Mark stated he would arrange a meeting with the company in an attempt to save the jobs which he described as an "absolute priority."

Earlier today (July 11) Mark said: "As promised, the situation at Kimberly-Clark is a real priority for me since being re-elected. I’ve been corresponding with several constituents who work at the plant, as well as other businesses in the supply chain and families affected. I’m acutely aware that so many people depend on the Flint site for their living. 

"On Tuesday I met with Unite Wales to discuss issues around the consultation on closure. We agree that the priority is to nail down exactly what the company’s intentions are. I’ve been working behind the scenes to set up a meeting with Kimberly-Clark to clarify this and have today been able to set a date of 18th July. 

"I will provide a further update after this. Constituents who have enquiries about this can email tamim@parliament.uk to be kept updated directly."

Following the announcement to shut down the business, a spokesperson from Kimberly-Clark said: “Following the official announcement by the UK government to ban the sale of wet wipes containing plastic, we are consulting on the proposed closure of our manufacturing operations at Flint in 2025.

“Phasing out plastics from our baby wipes has long been part of K-C’s sustainability plans and we have already removed a significant amount of plastic from them. Most of our baby wipes use a proprietary technology with 70 per cent natural fibres and 30 per cent plastic added to provide the necessary strength to clean and care for babies' skin properly.

“However, we’re unable to meet the UK Government’s deadline of mid-2026 as it significantly limits our ability to adapt our consumer manufacturing processes in Flint in time, which means it may no longer be viable to keep our consumer and B2B sites operational.

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“Decisions that involve our employees are the hardest to make and we know it is a challenging period for our team. Supporting them through this complex situation is our top priority.

“Should the site closure proposal go ahead, we will keep the Flint site operational into 2025,  and will continue to work closely with our customers and retailers on transition plans for affected products.”

MP Mark Tami has confirmed a further update will be announced soon.