A STUNNED silence fell on Michelin when 500 workers were told the factory was to close.

Many staff said that the closure was on the cards and were not surprised by the announcement after years of cutbacks, pay freezes and reductions in working hours.

They said many workers had been on a three-day week and production had decreased from 2,400 tyres a day to 1,500.

The 41-year-old factory which has 500 staff has employed three generations of some families.

All workers got a letter yesterday morning calling them to the meeting at 1.30pm and a 'phone call at 9am.

Stephen Gribble, 49, of Reedyford Road, Nelson, is an engineer who has worked at Michelin on a contract basis for six years.

He said: "We knew trade had gone down and I suppose it has been on the cards and there had been a suspicion that it might happen.

"I felt a bit sick when they announced it and I just hope my contractor Brier Engineering have enough work to keep me on.

Mr Gribble, who is married and has two grown-up children, worked for contractor Inman at Michelin until he was made redundant and then went working for Brier.

Coun John Harbour, 47, of Padiham, who works as training instructor at Michelin said: "We thought we had done everything needed to secure the factory for at least another four or five years but unfortunately it hasn't turned out that way.

"The company will be bringing in jobs clubs and any future employers of this town will be getting a good workforce if they employ people who have worked at Michelin.

"My advice to youngsters in school is stay on and get yourself a good education before you go out and look for work. It is not the same workplace where you can consider a job for life.

"It would have been nice if I could have continued working here until my retirement, but you never know, I might now do something I always wanted to do 30 years ago."

Coun Harbour has worked at the factory for 27 years and described the factory as a "great place to work" offering fair wages to staff.

He added: "Hopefully things are going to go well for people. I want a positive message to go out to the town because I think Burnley has a lot going for it and as things close other opportunities come along."

A 45-year-old worker, who did not want to be named, and who has been at Michelin for 18-years said: "There was a stunned silence when they made the announcement, but I have been expecting something for a number of years - it is not a shock.

"You never expect it to happen you always hope that changes in working practices will be the saviour of Burnley."

The shift worker said he had a large mortgage and although his wife worked he would need to find another job.

The workers have been told that even if they find an alternative job between now and next March they will be entitled to the full redundancy package.

Another worker on the same shift who also did not want to be named said: "I expected it a number of years ago. About two years after I started there was a huge cloud of doom and gloom about the place.

"We were committed to a three year pay deal and then last year we did not get the three per cent pay rise we had been expecting."

The worker, 36 and from Burnley, is married with three children. He said: "I am not panicking, there is nothing in getting worries about it. I think if you are willing to work you will find it. The worry is being able to pay the bills."

Another worker said: "What worries me is finding somewhere which pays the same as Michelin does."