DEVASTATED workers were today coming to terms with a 450 jobs blow at one of East Lancashire's major employers.

Michelin have announced that their Bancroft Road factory in Burnley will close in March next year and all 452 workers are to be made redundant.

The news comes less than a week after the shock announcement that Hurel-Hispano, an engineering firm that had expanded earlier in the year, was to shed 100 jobs from its Bancroft Road site.

Leader of Burnley Borough Council Stuart Caddy, said his sympathy went out to the workforce and their families.

He said: "I am absolutely gutted. It is a major blow for the town. 450 skilled jobs have gone this week, one hundred at Hurel Hispano last week, this could be just the start of it."

The Michelin factory, opened in July 1960 on the Heasandford Industrial Estate, specialising in the production of bus and truck tyres for markets in the UK and abroad.

A downturn in the automotive sector in North America and the detrimental effect on the European markets is being blamed for the closure.

Workers from the three shifts at the plant were sent letters yesterday asking them to attend a meeting at 1.30pm. There, management announced the site was to close.

The Burnley factory is the smallest of Michelin's 80 international manufacturing plants. Current production is running at only 20 per cent of capacity and the company has ruled out a major reinvestment programme on the grounds of cost.

Michelin argues that Burnley's current production of truck and bus tyres can be accommodated within its much larger plants.

Factory Manager John Lancaster, said that the decision was based on a strategic plan rather than the performance of the plant.

He said: "Our employees have done everything asked of them. The commitment, dedication and effort of everyone has been first class in recent years, particularly at a time when we have struggled to maintain a viable level of production.

"I take this opportunity to thank them for everything they have done. Unfortunately, we do not have the critical side which has become necessary in our highly competitive industry."

The closure plan means that production at the plant will cease at the end of March 2002. Employees will be offered redundancy terms well above the statutory minimum, together with a number of actions designed to enhance re-employment prospects.

Paul Niblett, a spokesman for Michelin, said: "A job shop will be set up. training courses will be run showing people how to compile a CV and how to prepare for interviews."

Burnley MP Peter Pike, reacted to the closure of Michelin with sadness but accepted it was inevitable.

He said: "I am obviously very sorry to hear the decision to close the Michelin plant and very much regret the sad news of all those workers who have lost their jobs.

"The reality, sadly, is that, within global terms, the Burnley site is too small."

Coun John Harbour, 47, of Padiham, who works as training instructor at Michelin said: "We thought we had done everything needed to secure the factory for at least another four or five years but, unfortunately, it hasn't turned out that way."