The final bottle of British-made HP Sauce rolled off the production line in Birmingham Friday as production of the famed condiment shifts to the Netherlands.

The final shift ended early in the morning, although some workers will remain on for several days to clean the factory where the sauce has been made for more than a century.

The company that owns the sauce, U.S.-based Heinz Co., announced last spring it would shut the factory and manufacture it in the Netherlands.

The company said the shift would improve productivity and ensured the sauce would taste the same. The move threw 125 people out of work.

Factory employee John Phipps calls the closure a "sad loss."

"It's such a British icon," he said. "Nobody else likes HP Sauce like the British people. We just can't understand why it's being sent to Holland."

Four generations of Phipps's family have worked at the Birmingham plant, starting with his grandfather in 1924. Phipps, 59, said he isn't sure whether he'll still use HP Sauce during his early retirement.

"I'm not sure … whether they can reproduce the taste like we can," he said.

Following the announcement, union leaders called the decision "savage." Local businesses launched a "Save our Sauce" campaign and supporters held demonstrations in Birmingham and outside the U.S. Embassy in London.
Patrons at a Birmingham bar say they're upset about the move.

"There's going to be nothing British about it anymore. We will be looking for an alternative," Kim McIlhone told Sky News.

MPs unsuccessfully tried to get the sauce banned from the Houses of Parliament, saying it was no longer a symbol of "Britishness," said the BBC.

Developed in the early 1900s and first sold in 1903 under the HP brand, HP Sauce holds a Royal Warrant, meaning the product has been supplied to members of the Royal Family.

The Royal Arms insignia on the bottle reads: "By Appointment … Outfitters to HM The Queen."