Twenty jobs will be lost in West Auckland when Helmsman Cubicle Systems moves manufacturing to Suffolk headquarters.

Ten workers are being made redundant and the rest will transfer to Bury St Edmunds following a costcutting review of parent company W B BawnBawn's operations.

Manufacturing director Bernard Grimshaw said: "Staff consultation was an important part of the review process and the news did not come as a great surprise.

"We had been concerned for some time that, although the cubicle product was first-class, we didn't benefit from the economies of scale achieved at Bury."

Jobs could also be under threat at a Weardale foundry.

Managers at William Cook's Blackett Hutton foundry, in Tow Law, are in talks with the workforce to try to stave off redundancies.

Managing director Kevin Grayley said they were battling to maintain as many jobs as possible, but escalating costs of raw materials, mostly gas, and the effect of the Euro was making manufacturing uncompetitive.

"Our intention is to do everything we can to keep the Tow Law operation open. Ultimately, we may find we just can't find enough business,"

Debra Deary, assistant manager at the County Durham office of the North-East Chamber of Commerce, said: "The chamber is concerned at the continuing decline of manufacturing in the region which, together with the clothing business, has been shedding jobs at an alarming rate for two or three years."