Britannia, the ₹16,546-crore biscuit maker, isn’t planning to quit the city.

Amit Mitra, special advisor to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and former finance minister of the state, said on Tuesday that Britannia MD and CEO Varun Berry assured the state government that the Nusli Wadia-owned biscuit company had no plans to snap its over 100-year ties with Calcutta.

The recent voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) offered and accepted by 122 permanent workers at the company’s Taratala factory in Calcutta and the halt in production had fanned fears that another business house was aiming to pull out of the city, further scarring its image as an investment destination.

In an obvious effort at damage control, Mitra told reporters at Nabanna that Berry — presently travelling overseas — had called him to soothe the state’s fears about an imminent exit by Britannia.

Berry had assured Mitra that he and his team of top officials would travel to the city after he returned to India and confer with the state government.

“He (Berry) said that Britannia as a company is fully committed to West Bengal. He said that the company wants to build Britannia’s business from strength to strength in West Bengal,” Mitra said.

He said the managing director of Britannia has told him the company was producing biscuits and other snacks and dairy items worth ₹1000-1200 crore and it would continue to produce food items of similar quantity.

Mitra said that Berry has informed him that the biscuit maker would retain its registered office in the city (at 5/1A Hungerford Street) and will continue to hold its annual general meeting of shareholders in the city.

“The registered office of the company is in Calcutta and will remain in Calcutta. Shareholder meetings will continue to be held in Calcutta,” Mitra said.

The Telegraph had reported on Monday that all the permanent workers at the company’s Taratala plant have taken VRS after they were offered a severance package in the range of ₹13-22 lakh. There are around 250 contractual workers at the plant with whom the company has also initiated discussions for a prospective VRS.

Sources told this newspaper that the contractual workers have been offered severance packages ranging between ₹2 lakh and ₹5lakh following negotiations with the management on Tuesday.

The FMCG firm’s current lease on the 11-acre plot at Taratala runs till 2048 with the company having renewed the lease with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in 2018.

Berry, however, did not make any immediate commitment to Mitra on fresh investments, leaving the prospects of a new unit in the state as a replacement for Taratala, still a speculation.

Industry observers said the matter could arise at the proposed meeting.