HIGHLY-SKILLED manufacturing jobs are under threat in company plans to switch work to Spain, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Metabrasive Limited is looking to stop production at its plant in Stillington, near Stockton.

Last night (Tuesday, March 22), Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, called the announcement saddening, saying it represented Government industrial failures and another blow to Teesside’s employment landscape, which is still recovering from Redcar steelmaker SSI UK’s liquidation.

Metabrasive, which makes iron particles for train and car manufacturing, says its plans will help overcome a fall in demand, negate export difficulties brought on by the weaker pound and bypass the oil and gas industry’s downturn.

A spokesman said 19 workers will be affected in the changes, which he stressed are still in the consultation phase.

However, he added a further 12 jobs, across sales and distribution, will be immune from the shake-up, saying the divisions will continue operating in Stillington.

The Northern Echo understands production at Metabrasive’s factory, based on Ironmasters Way, next to precision engineer Darchem’s sprawling site, is planned to be halted by the summer, with some of it taken to Spain.

Offering his support to workers, Mr Cunningham, whose constituency includes Stillington, said the Government must re-think its industrial policy or face seeing more businesses fold.

He said: “It is very sad news for the highly-skilled staff in a vital industry producing speciality products.

“They join thousands of other workers from the Teesside steel and related industries who have been made redundant due to the unfair international competition, from the Far-East in particular.

“The decision by the Government to block EU sanctions against China and failure to support the industry locally has led first to the major closures and then a series of smaller firms throughout Teesside going to the wall.

“If the Government is serious about a Northern Powerhouse, they need to develop an industrial strategy that will work in the interests of our region, not against it.”

A spokesman for Metabrasives, which has been part of the global Winoa Group since 1980, emphasised no final decision has been made, but said it would help staff if they are faced with redundancy.

He also said it was being forced into looking at alternative ways of operating after seeing its iron being replaced by steel in some train manufacturing.

He added: “There will be a good package for workers and the company would really like to support employees to find other jobs.

“Other factors on top of the decrease in demand (for the proposals) are the overall reduction trend in industrial activity in the UK and the appreciation of the pound in 2015 versus previous years, which severely affected the competitiveness in export markets.”