Honeywell has said it is cutting 6,500 jobs

Profits at Honeywell, which makes aerospace, automotive and electronic products, have fallen sharply.

It reported first quarter net income of $41m down from $506m a year earlier.

The company said it was cutting 5% of its global workforce, leading to fears that this may include job losses at the Motherwell plant.

However, unions are hopeful that the 750 staff will escape unscathed.

Workers at Motorola in Bathgate - who returned to work on Sunday after an enforced two week break - are still waiting to learn their fate.

PM intervention

The American mobile phone giant is expected to announce this week whether the Bathgate plant is to be mothballed.

Motorola may decide the fate of the plant this week

The plant was saved from closure 12 days ago when Prime Minister Tony Blair stepped in.

Mr Blair held a 15-minute telephone conversation with Motorola's president, Chris Galvin, in an effort to stave off any immediate closure measures.

It was widely thought that the American telecom giant would announce the closure of the West Lothian factory as it unveiled losses of $206m for the first three months of the year.

The company has been trying to improve its financial performance by taking aggressive cost-cutting measures including the slashing of 22,000 or 15% of its jobs this year.