NEARLY 90 people are to lose their jobs when a Leyland company closes.

Prestolite Electric, based in Cleveland Road, which remanufactures and repairs alternators and starter motors for trucks and buses, is to close in June.

Bosses at the company say the decision has been made purely on economic grounds, because it is now cheaper to have parts made from scratch in Argentina and China, rather then reconditioning parts in Britain.

The move has come as a huge blow to the 89 workers, some of which have worked at the factory for more than 35 years.

Peter Marsden, shop steward for the GMB union, added: "It's devastating. We have four couples who work here, it means the loss of both jobs for them.

"But we live in a throwaway society, and it's so much cheaper to make things abroad. We'll probably end up working at Morrison's or Tesco."

According to figures from the World Bank the average wage in China is about $91 a month (about £50 a month).

Mike Glover, shop steward for the Amicus union, said there are very few manufacturing jobs in the area, and that many of the workers might have to retrain to work in service industries.

He added: "The severance package is a bit better than the flat rate, but for people who have worked here for 20 or 30 years it's never enough."

A company spokesman said a major contract that Prestolite had held for many years has recently been lost to a Chinese supplier.

He said: "This, coupled with the declining competitiveness of the remanufactured product line, has resulted in a new-for-old strategy utilising brand new products produced at sister plants in Argentina and China.

"Sadly, we operate in an industry where UK labour rates have become prohibitive and the same products are now being manufactured overseas at significantly lower cost. Prestolite Electric have made it clear that the proposed closure is in no way a reflection on the management or workforce at Leyland."