A UNION last night accused manufacturer Jeld-Wen of not doing enough to prevent the closure of its Darlington factory, which would lead to the loss of 140 jobs.

The Northern Echo revealed earlier this month how the Lingfield Point site, which makes uPVC windows and doors, was about to close after a fall in orders and the loss of a major client.

While Jeld-Wen said the closure was deeply regrettable but inevitable, workers at the site and representatives from the GMB union appealed for alternative solutions to be considered.

Although the company said it has looked into transferring production to its Melton Mowbray factory, or scaling back its Darlington operation, it said neither option was viable.

If the closure goes ahead, the site's 140 workers will be made redundant in mid-February. Yesterday, Ian MacKenzie, from the GMB, accused the company of being reluctant to consider "meaningful solutions," and said the promised 90-day consultation process was "non-existent".

He said: "As a trade union representative, I feel it is my obligation and responsibility to consider every option available before accepting that this plant might close. However, I do not feel the same can be said for the management at that factory.

"The vibes coming back from the management are very negative. They claim they are being realistic, but to my mind, not enough consideration is being given to alternatives to closure - can we revive orders and win back the big client? Can we negotiate with the landlord?

"Is there a possibility of getting grants? These are genuine options that are just not being considered.

"The company seems to believe the consultation process so far has been acceptable - but our ideas of meaningful discussions are clearly very different. Neither myself or the workers have been told anything about a definite closure, and people don't know what is happening with their jobs.

"At a meeting yesterday, I requested we take a step back and start another 90-day consultation so options could be properly considered, but that was declined.

"Although they seem to appreciate my efforts to come up with alternatives to the closure, it seems to be a one-man band situation. We can't save people's jobs and a factory like that, and the workers at Jeld-Wen deserve more."

A worker, who asked not to be named, last night said: "We only found out from The Northern Echo that this factory was going to close. It would have been nice if they'd told their employees. We haven't a clue what's happening or what is going to happen."