The move has been slammed by union officials as " a kick in the teeth" for the borough's workforce.

Two thirds of the staff at Filtrona Filter Products in Jarrow will be made redundant over the next 12 months.

The grim news follows doomed attempts to save the 233 jobs during a 90-day consultation period with workers and trade unions.

Only about 130 workers will be left at the Bede Industrial Estate factory after the redundancies take effect.

The job losses are blamed on a massive fall in cigarette consumption across western Europe and the US. They follow 75 job losses last year.

GMB regional secretary Tom Brennan today attacked the move, saying: "This is an absolutely devastating blow for the local workforce, which has been extremely loyal to Filtrona over decades.

"The company says there has been a massive decline in cigarette consumption, but I see no evidence of that.

"Filtrona has made fantastic profits out of the Jarrow plant, but at the first sign of trouble, there is a dash for cheap labour. We are soon going to be importing cheap cigarettes from eastern Europe.

"The GMB has made its feelings known to Filtrona. We consider this a kick in the teeth for Jarrow."

John Scollen, Filtrona's regional director for Europe, said: "Although the company's discussions with the workforce representatives have been positive and amicable, we have sadly reached the conclusion that there is simply no viable alternative to the proposed downsizing.

"We are moving ahead with plans to retain the jobs of circa 130 employees.

"This is in response to changing market conditions and, by positioning the Jarrow facility in this way, provides the best prospect of securing a viable future for it.

"A redundancy package is agreed, and over the next 12 months, we will be giving affected employees support to ensure they are well placed to take up employment elsewhere.

"We are identifying individual training needs and are working closely with a specially-created task force to help employees find new jobs."