MORE than 100 jobs will go and a further 150 will be left hanging in the balance with the closure of a Middlewich company.

Celestica Ltd, based at Byley Industrial Estate, has announced it is to close its factory with the loss of 130 temporary jobs.

Vice-president of global repair services, Phil Holland, said: "We understand the impact that this change will have on the temporary workforce at Byley.

"However, these proposals have been made after careful consideration."

Around 150 permanent workers will be offered the chance to stay with the company - but will have to relocate to a site in Telford.

Mr Holland added: "We will do everything to help people keep their jobs with the company including looking at situations on a one-to-one basis. Retention of these highly skilled permanent employees is a priority."

Celestica Ltd has been in Byley for over 20 years and grew into a significant business in the mid 1990's.

It's customers are some of the leading names in information technology including IBM and Hewlett Packard.

A company spokesman said the relocation was necessary because the site at Byley was no longer well enough equipped.

"The relocation has been chosen because the site at Telford is more suitable for our customers in terms of capability and it can provide an improved employee facility because it is a state of the art site," he said.

The closure is a double-blow for the area's employment, coming just two weeks after Harris Bacon Factory in Winsford announced it would close with the loss of 550 jobs.