LEIGH MP Lawrence Cunliffe is demanding Government intervention to stop 325 Volex Powercords jobs being lost.

Work from the state of the art plant in Leigh is now being switched to Volex factories in SE Asia for cheaper production.

Volex Powercords, based at Green Fold Way on the Leigh Business Park, plan to make the losses by June, with a handful following shortly afterwards.

Volex bosses began meetings this week with officers from the Transport and General Workers' Union.

An employee who would not be named said: "Everyone is stunned by the announcement. We just can't take it in.

"The company have been laying people off for the last 12 months and we expected something - but not 325 people losing their jobs.

"Work is being switched to where there's cheap labour while people in Leigh and the surrounding area suffer."

MP Lawrence Cunliffe said the job loss news was "extremely grim" for the workers, continued job security and the local economy. "The move to SE Asia is not just a case of competative pricing but is also in the name of rationalisation which always means the reduction of a labour force and maximisation of profits.

"I believe intervention is necessary when there is a really serious significant effect from a cut in labour force or closure. "I will be seeing the Industry Minister to seek his intevention and to see whether the competition is fair relating to Asian workers and Leigh workers."

Local councillor Brian Jarvis (Hope Carr), a former union convenor at David Brown Tractors, condemned the losses and vowed to work with Mr Cunliffe to save the jobs.

"This is devastating news, not only for the employees but the town of Leigh.

"Unemployment is high in the town and our traditional manufacturing base is going down and down. If it goes any further it won't exist.

"I've seen all this before at David Browns - death of a factory by a thousand cuts."

Cllr Jarvis, chairman of Leigh's Town Centre Management Committee, said it was now even more vital that the Xanadu snow dome leisure project creating 2,000 jobs got a Government go-ahead following a lengthy public inquiry.

Volex Powercords managing director Tom Barber said the work from Leigh would be switched mainly to Volex Asia plants in China and South East Asia.

Mr Barber said the strength of the Pound was a factor in the decision, but not the only factor. "The commercial pressures would be such that we would have to take this action anyway.

"We still plan to manufacture here and have recently invested in the most modern, automated equipment and we will be running that around the clock.

"But the very nature of automation means it doesn't employ people.

"We have to take the cost out of our product and invest in high technology and resources from factories in South East Asia.

"Because of the prices our customers are expecting we cannot continue to manufacture in the way we are."

Mr Barber said they were working through the 90 day consultation period with the unions "but the hard economics of the situation would not change".

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.