Union leaders have hit out at a chemical company which is closing its Fife plant with the loss of 370 jobs.

Aluminium giant Alcan has announced that its plant at Burntisland, Fife, will shut down on 30 November.

It said in September that its plant had been earmarked for closure because it was no longer profitable.

The GMB union accused Alcan - which makes aluminium cooking foil - of treating the workforce like "turkeys".

The GMB said workers were treated like turkeys

"They acted like Scrooge when it came to dealing with their loyal employees in Fife," said Scottish regional secretary Robert Parker.

"They offered a miserly compensation package, which they threatened to take off the table if the workforce and their trade union representatives pressed for a more realistic settlement.

"They treated the negotiators like turkeys, wrapped them in foil, and turned up the heat. Everyone felt like they had been well and truly stuffed."

Mr Parker said the company had received �5m in regional selective assistance from the Scottish Executive as recently as 1999 but the total redundancy package for the plant worked out at just �1m.

Special chemicals

The firm announced in January that it wanted to pull out of the European speciality chemicals market.

In September Alcan said it had been unable to reach a deal to sell the plant.

The plant was established in 1917 as a refinery to produce smelter-grade alumina, for turning into aluminium.

But in 1972 it switched instead to producing special chemicals.

Announcing the closure date, Alcan said it had successfully completed a consultation process with workers and unions.

"An agreement has been reached to cease operations at the Burntisland (UK) facility on 30 November," said the company.

A company spokeswoman declined to give details of redundancy terms but said: "The package is fair and competitive."