BOSSES at the last weaving mill in Blackburn have said there are no plans to close it despite further job losses and falling sales.

The redundancies at Hilden Manufacturing in Britannia Mill, Didsbury Street, have been blamed on falling sales orders.

A weekend shift has been scrapped causing nine workers, who have combined service at the mill of 235 years, to lose their jobs.

Union officials said workers felt it could be the "thin end of the wedge" and said that cheaper imported cloth could eventually mean the end of production at the mill.

Importing cloth

Bosses at the site have moved to allay workers fears and said there were no plans to close the mill, but have said they are importing cloth from Turkey.

Hilden manufacturing employs 436 people throughout East Lancashire.

Britannia Mill, which has 80 workers, produces mattress covers, table cloths and fabrics.

Hilden also runs a finishing division in Accrington, a head office and sales division in Oswaldtwistle and also owns the Oswaldtwistle Mills retail complex -- a former weaving mill.

Last September the company announced 26 losses, though a third of those workers were retained by the company.

The weavers and overlookers on the weekend shift who have lost their jobs were all long-term employees.

Simon Hargreaves, director of the weaving division, said: "Unfortunately the decision was taken to reduce production at the mill due to continuing price pressures from imported fabrics.

"We are now having to import fabric ourselves to remain competitive in the market.

"However, there are no plans to close the mill."

Order slowdown

David Broadhurst, personnel manager for the company, said all the people on the weekend shift were of long service.

He said: "That is the sad part about it. It is a disaster for them.

"Recently there has been a slow down in orders, it was necessary to cease production of the weekend shift to balance production with sales.

"It is the case that we import cloth from Egypt and Slovenia."

A union representative for the workers said many of those on the site feared for their future because of the threat of cheaper imported cloth.

Ken Wilcock, Oswaldtwistle and Church branch secretary for the Powerloom Overlookers Society, said: "I get the impression that a lot of workers there think with all these imports it's going to be the thin end of the wedge. They don't think it will last."