The company says the job losses are due to a lack of work

Appledore Shipbuilders in north Devon said 99 redundancies would come into effect at the end of April.

The company said there was not enough work to justify the number of people it employed.

The South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) has acted by putting together a task force to support those who will lose their employment.

Members of the task force include Appledore Shipbuilders, SWRDA, Torridge District Council, Devon County Council, the local Chamber of Commerce, JobCentre Plus and the Government Office for the South West.

It will have a huge impact because the local population is small and there is no obvious alternative employment Sue Brownlow, South West Regional Development Agency head of operations for Devon

Headed by David Whiteley, chair of the North and West Devon Economic Partnership, the task force's first meeting was taking place on Tuesday afternoon.

It will be encouraging Appledore Shipbuilders to look at alternative ways of using the skills of its workforce.

Sue Brownlow, RDA head of operations for Devon, said: "The announcement from Appledore Shipbuilders is bad news for Bideford and the surrounding area.

"One hundred jobs are directly affected, but there will be more involved indirectly.

Traditional shipbuilder

"It will have a huge impact because the local population is small and there is no obvious alternative employment."

Ms Brownlow said Appledore was one of the last remaining traditional shipbuilders in the UK.

"They are an excellent company, but there is fierce global competition in this sector which has driven down prices.

"They are hopeful that negotiations they are having this week may lead to new work for the yard, so that these redundancies will not have to go ahead.

Support offered

"But if this cannot be achieved, we are committed to doing all we can to support those who may lose their jobs and to help the local economy diversify and recover."

The 99 jobs will disappear on 23 April, and because the number of job losses is less than 100, the compulsory 90-day consultation is avoided.

The Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union has already expressed its disappointment at the job cuts.

Appledore Shipbuilders currently employs 550 people, with another 250 as sub-contractors.