AROUND 60 employees of manufacturing giant Rolls -Royce in Barnoldswick are facing redundancy.

Rolls-Royce, one of the world’s leading industrial technology companies, says it plans to reduce its workforce of around 900 in the town by about 60 during the early part of the year.

The company, which has two sites in Barnoldswick, at Bankfield and at Ghyll Brow, Skipton Road, and a social club, says it hopes to avoid compulsory redundancies if it can.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “This is deeply disappointing news for local employees especially coming at this time of year. I look forward to meeting with Rolls-Royce soon to discuss these redundancies and the need for further investment at our local sites.”

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “Rolls-Royce must continually review current workload and assess future customer demand to remain competitive. As part of this planning process we have identified a requirement to reduce the headcount of around 900 employees at our Barnoldswick facility by approximately 60 during early 2019. We will offer full support to employees who are impacted by the changes and as part of this process we will look at opportunities for the redeployment of affected employees, voluntary severance and reducing the use of agency workers. We will seek to avoid compulsory redundancies wherever possible.

“It is never an easy decision to propose reductions in our workforce, but it is a sign of the increasingly competitive market in which we operate that such actions are necessary.

“Rolls-Royce has invested over £136 million in Barnoldswick over the last four years and is a location where we manufacture key parts for our Civil Aerospace business and will continue to play an important part in the services we offer.”