THE jobs axe has fallen at a major cigarette filter company, it was revealed today.
Up to 70 redundancies have taken effect at Filtrona Filters at Bede Industrial Estate in Jarrow, as the result of a big slump in demand.
A union leader said she hoped there would be no more job cuts at the factory in the immediate future, but st
ressed there could be "no guarantees" on staff levels.
Much of the factory's production is for the export market, and bosses recently told the Gazette that increased smoking restrictions and taxation have sparked a decline in cigarette consumption in North America and Western Europe.
GMB regional organiser Val Scott said: "These redundancies are very disappointing, but we are working with the company, which has been hit by overseas competition and the smoking ban.
"The bulk of the planned 75 redundancies took effect last Friday. More than 60 of these were voluntary redundancies, with the remainder being compulsory.
"We are hopeful this action will mean no further redundancies will be needed in the near future, but that is really the $64,000 question."
Filtrona Filters was forced to close down its Richmond site last year, and regional director John Scollen admitted last month that the company was "experiencing some challenging trading conditions and activity is down".
The GMB says that many of the workers who took voluntary redundancy from Filtrona were approaching retirement.
About 200 people still work at Filtrona following last week's redundancies, making it one of the biggest employers in the area.
No one was available for further comment at the factory.
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