Job cuts blamed on housing slump

Thirty jobs are to go at a Cumbrian plasterboard factory because of a downturn in the construction industry.

The move, at the British Gypsum plant at Kirkby Thore, near Penrith, follows the loss of 26 posts last year. The plant employs about 250 people.

The company said it had suffered a drop in orders, which it blamed on continuing problems within the UK construction industry.

The firm said it hoped compulsory redundancies could be avoided.