A NUMBER of redundancies have been confirmed at two Pilkington sites in the town.

A total of 12 redundancies at Pilkington's Greengate site and a further six at the Watson Street Works have been taken on a voluntary basis, says the company.

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The Star was made aware of the redundancies, which unions say they will not resist or take any industrial action in relation to.

A spokesperson for the NSG group said: "We announced in December 2018 that there would be redundancies at Greengate.

"A voluntary redundancy window was opened and we received the required numbers on a voluntary basis. There will be no compulsory redundancies at Greengate.

"We also have a headcount reduction of six at Watson Street which we announced in March 2019. A voluntary redundancy window is open and we have enough applicants to date.

"Therefore, we are confident that we will achieve the reduction without any compulsory redundancies.

"GMB have been involved during the consultation."

A GMB union spokesman said they are in the process of consultation with management over the suggested numbers, which "equate to 12 operators at Greengate" and six at Watson Street, due to "a downturn in production demand".

"The numbers will be met by voluntary means and as a result, we don't envisage any need to resist, or take any industrial action against the company's decision," they added.