ANGRY workers have slammed company bosses after they decided to close a Blackburn factory with the loss of more than 40 local jobs.

After weeks of speculation Plasmon has decided to close the Blackburn factory it bought off Philips only weeks ago and transfer work to its other site near Cambridge.

In total the firm is looking for around 40 redundancies across both Blackburn and Melbourn sites with relocation packages on offer to Lancashire staff on an individual basis.

But one Blackburn employee said it would be difficult for staff to relocate because of the higher cost of living in Cambridge.

Semi-skilled workers at the Blackburn site earn around £12,000 and skilled workers around £15,000.

And workers are angry over the way the takeover has left them without jobs in the town.

"This site has been very buoyant and very successful because of the workforce here," said one who did not want to be named.

Earlier this month Philips Laser Magnetic Storage, part of the Philips electronics giant, was sold to Hertfordshire-based Plasmon. The Blackburn factory, which employs 44, produces 12-inch glass laser discs used for storage of information.

But the firm says difficult market conditions means that it has to rationalise its operations and combine its two UK sites.

There were two options - either centring the merged operation on the existing site in Blackburn or at the other factory in Hertfordshire.

The loss of a high-tech manufacturing firm is a major blow to the area already hit by a catalogue of job loss announcements by major employers.

In a letter to staff shortly after the takeover, the company said the job losses were unavoidable.

"The company regrets having to take this course of action but has no alternative in light of the present circumstances.

"All possible steps will be taken to reduce the impact of redundancies."

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