BOSSES at Dutch electronics giant Philips today reassured workers at its Blackburn TV components factory that they need not fear for their jobs.

Leaders from engineering union Amicus claimed that Philips was planning to close four factories in the UK and switch production to Eastern Europe.

The Blackburn plant, which employs around 500 people, was one of the sites named in what the union claimed was a leaked report from Philips management.

But Christa Horrocks, a spokeswomen for Philips in Holland, denied there were any plans to close Blackburn.

"I very much regret that our people in Blackburn are worried and nervous," she said. "Blackburn has nothing to be nervous about. There are no plans for closing down Blackburn."

Miss Horrocks said a great deal of confusion had been caused by the unauthorised release of internal discussion documents which looked at a range of scenarios.

"No decision has been made, nor is any expected at short notice," she added.

"There is no timetable for these decisions and I would not expect anything for this year.

"If there is to be any restructuring, the employees will be the first to know."

The jobs threat emerged after Danny Carrigan, a national officer with Amicus, claimed leaked confidential information showed that LG Philips was considering closing factories in Blackburn, Durham, Washington and Newport, which together employ around 3,000 people.

Philips Components in Blackburn, which manufactures cathodes for TVs and monitors, has been one of the town's largest employers for more than 60 years.

In December last year, 76 workers were made redundant and it is understood another 20 have followed recently.

The Philips plant in Simonstone, which employs around 270 people, is not thought to be among the list of factories being considered for closure.