REDUNDANCY fears are hanging over a Durham factory after a dip in orders.

Unions are meeting with managers at Mono Containers, which employs more than 150 people at Dragonville Industrial Estate, this week to discuss concerns over the company's order book.

The company makes pre-formed plastic cups for the food industry for products such as Pot Noodle.

It is believed that further redundancies are in the pipeline - the third round this year.

Last year 35 people were laid off and this year a further 60 were made redundant.

Anne Hogg, of the Transport and General Workers Union, said: "I've been working with the company since last November and they have had two rounds of redundancies. We are talking more than 100 people, and I have had contact from the company asking to meet with me and with Amicus this week.

"The company is not doing very well, I am told, and I think they are looking to downsize."

The company was plunged into difficulty earlier this year when German yoghurt maker Muller withdrew its business.

It operates on tight margins in a competitive market and this is believed to have caused the problems.

Ms Hogg said: "There has been heavy capital investment in machinery and so forth at the site.

"But the staff who work there have been through a very difficult period which has been very unsettling for them. The morale of staff will be at rock bottom."

Gerry Hunter, of trade union Amicus, which represents engineering workers at the company, said he was also going to the meeting.

"We are hoping there won't be redundancies," he said, "but, having seen the last round take the same format as this, we just can't rule it out."

The Northern Echo contacted parent company Veriplast about the redundancies but no-one was available for comment.

* Earlier this year Linpac Filmco in Sedgfield made 73 of its 130 workers redundant due to the competitiveness of the food packaging industry, which has been caused by price wars in supermarkets.