Hundreds of jobs to go at factory

The factory makes cabinets for computers and generators

Up to 300 jobs are to be lost at a County Antrim factory.

Staff at Sanmina in Lisburn, which makes cabinets for computers and generators, have been told that the factory is closing.

The US-owned company is moving to Hungary where wage costs are lower. Staff have been given 90 days' notice. Some have worked there for 20 years.

Union leader Terry Collins from Amicus said the job losses would have a "devastating impact".

"If it is not the largest manufacturing employer in the Lisburn area, it would certainly be one of them.

If they were situated in the likes of France or Germany, it would cost up to approximately £100,000 per employee to remove them Terry Collins Amicus

"Obviously, the ripple impact of the loss of that income which would be substantial in the locality, will have an impact, not only for the immediate employees but for the business commmunity in Lisburn."

Mr Collins said he was concerned that weak employment laws in the United Kingdom allowed multinational companies to leave because they had to pay little in compensation.

"If they were situated in the likes of France or Germany, it would cost up to approximately £100,000 per employee to remove them."

A great deal of effort went into preventing the closure, but there was no other alternative Sanmina spokesman

He added that he would be contacting the company urgently, "but obviously I'm fearful".

A spokesman for Sanmina said the decision "has not been taken lightly".

"This course of action is always extremely difficult," he said.

"This is not a reflection on the performance of the Lisburn employees or the management team.

"A great deal of effort went into preventing the closure, but there was no other alternative."

Sanmina took over the Ballinderry Road factory about five years ago.

Another Sanmina plant in Scotland was closed in the past two years.

The company already employs 600 people at a factory in Hungary.