DRUG company GlaxoSmith-Kline warned last night that up to 200 workers may be facing the sack at its North-East plant.

The company says it needs to cut 400 from the workforce at its plant in Barnard Castle, County Durham, by the end of next year.

And although 280 staff have already applied to leave voluntarily, not all of them are in suitable positions, and the management is now looking at compulsory redundancies.

The news came as the Barnard Castle plant announced a £1.2m package of help, including a £750,000 investment in a new Teesdale Enterprise Fund, in a bid to soften the blow.

A spokesman for the business said: "About 180 staff have so far been accepted for voluntary redundancy.

"The first 90 of them will be leaving in the next few weeks, with the others phased out over time.

"We have so far had 280 volunteers for redundancy, but some of them are in positions that we need to maintain for the smooth running of the business.

"As there have not been enough volunteers in suitable positions, we will need to find the losses by compulsory means."