Fabric sofa sales have been hit

Officials from the GMB union met senior managers from sofa group Christie Tyler on 6 and 7 March to discuss the plants' planned closure.

At the firm's Carousel Furniture in Cardiff, 180 jobs are at risk and at Wyvern plant in Ebbw Vale, 200 jobs are threatened.

Union official Rick Carnaby said: "We met without membership on both sites. Talks are still ongoing and our aim is still non-closure."

Mr Carnaby, the GMB regional organiser, said he and fellow officials would meet management again in a fortnight's time.

He explained that the Cardiff plant was at risk because furniture retailer MFI had withdrawn orders and planned to make its own furniture.

He said the Ebbw Vale plant was threatened because the company planned to transfer all of the work to a sister plant in the Midlands.

He said of the meeting with management: "They gave in-depth reasons for the proposed closures and we had queries and questions about those reasons."

"They have got to go away and formulate answers to those questions and suggestions and we are reconvening in a fortnight," he added.

Negotiators

Those at the meeting include a team of union negotiators, Christie Tyler Operations Director Steve Hampton and Financial Director Bernard Stitfall.

Christie Tyler, which is one of the UK's biggest names in furniture, blames the situation on fashion changes, a downturn in the upholstery market, an upturn in leather sales and low-cost competition.

The GMB first met management on 5 March, and it had 90 days to develop a rescue plan - or else, minimise the scale of the job losses.

But the firm has conceded talks "may lead to a reduction of manufacturing capacity with associated job losses".

Losses

News of the proposed closure stunned workers at the two plants - coming two years after Christie Tyler shed 300 workers from its 2,000-strong workforce.

The jobs were lost at the company's factories in Caerphilly and Bridgend, which are not affected by the latest cuts.

Since the demise of the coal industry, upholstery factories have become a major employer in south Wales, employing thousands of workers.

The Christie Tyler group includes Pendragon, the UK's largest manufacturer of leather sofas.