Drugs company workers in the region are to be offered voluntary redundancy as part of a re-organisation programme.

Staff in the quality assurance department at the GlaxoSmithKline plant, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, will be offered redundancy as part of a "streamlining" programme.

However, bosses at the pharmaceutical site, which is the biggest employer in Teesdale, have made it clear that there will be no compulsory redundancies and that any loss in worker numbers would be phased over the next few years.

The company announced in June 2001 that 400 jobs would be going from the plant, as part of a global re-organisation programme.

Bosses are now looking to reduce the headcount by a further 40, through voluntary redundancy, natural turnover and the conclusion of contracts.

Phil Brown, communications manager at the plant, which has a workforce of about 1,100, said: "By no means are we going to impose compulsory redundancies on anyone.

"But following a review, we have seen that one way to meet the needs of the business is to streamline the quality assurance department over a number of years.

"We have assessed the situation and we feel confident that we can achieve a figure of around 40, which is our target, but no one is being forced out under any circumstances."