Paint factory jobs under threat

More than 100 jobs are to be cut at an industrial paint factory in Lancashire when production is moved to Sweden, bosses have announced.

The site in Darwen is owned by Akzo Nobel, which recently sold off Crown Paints as part of a deal to buy ICI, the owners of Dulux.

Union leaders have vowed to fight the decision which they say would be a "huge blow" to the region.

The company said it would keep job losses as low as possible.

Bob Welham, senior GMB convener, said the announcement had come after a strategic review of operations carried out by Akzo Nobel head office in Amsterdam.

'Negative impact'

"We are bitterly disappointed at this announcement and we will fight this all the way. The jobs will not be lost without a fight. We will make it very clear that this is the wrong decision for the company.

"Akzo Nobel portrays itself as a socially responsible company but this will have a very negative impact on Darwen.

"There are few skilled jobs around and these job losses will be felt hard. We were told jobs were safe and this is a huge blow to the hard-working staff here."

Akzo Nobel said there had been a lot of pressures on the manufacturing industry in this country recently, and pledged to keep job losses as low as possible.

The company must undertake a period of consultation before a final decision can be made.