WORKERS and union officials were reeling from a giant textile firm's decision to axe 300 jobs in East Lancashire.
The shock announcement by Smith and Nephew, Brierfield, which included the complete closure of a spinning mill, came only days after the group announced an 18 per cent increase in half year profits from £54.5 to £64.4 million.
But the redundancy blow was sweetened by a major investment of £2.5 million, involving the creation of one of the most modern spinning operations in Europe.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article