The battle to save jobs at one of Telford’s biggest factories began in earnest today after bosses confirmed 141 posts would be axed.

Union leaders now hope to ensure as many redundancies as possible at GKN are voluntary.

And they are seeking to win the maximum amount of cash compensation paid to those who are forced to quit.

It follows the jobs bombshell dropped on Tuesday when GKN bosses announced more than 560 posts would be shed across the country due to the slowdown in the motor industry.

One of the main victims is the GKN Autostructures operation at Hadley Castle, which employs 730 people making car chassis and components for customers such as Land Rover, Toyota and Ford.

The GMB and Unite unions are hoping to work with GKN to minimise the impact for Telford workers and their families. 

Keith Hodginson, GMB West Midlands senior organiser, said: “They initially announced some 150 jobs would go, but we now have the official breakdown.

“It’s 125 manual workers and 16 white-collar staff, making a total of 141 people at risk.

“Our next meeting with the factory shop stewards and management is on Monday. 

“We will try to minimise compulsory redundancies by getting volunteers, but this comes on the back of 99 jobs that went in January, so it will be difficult to find people.

“GKN has not yet set out what its redundancy package will be. We want to ensure they put enough money on the table.”

The factory at Hadley Castle, formerly Sankeys, has been making car bodies and components since 1910.

It employed 8,500 people at its peak before declining in the late 1970s.