A spokesman said trade union officials were engaged in a 30-day consultation period which "unfortunately may result in a small number of redundancies".

The factory employs 600 people, making axles, gearboxes and engine components for JCB excavators and other machines.

But the firm, one of the town's biggest employers, said it was "realigning" production due to "softened" demand.

The factory received the Queen's Award for Enterprise last year, to mark its growth in exports.