A TOTAL of 60 jobs have been lost at a factory in Westhoughton -- with more than 250 other posts to go by the end of the year.

Kitchen manufacturer Bernstein Group said the cuts were necessary because the business had changed significantly in the past 18 months.

Of the jobs lost so far, the firm said 57 were voluntary.

There are likely to be a total of 320 redundancies this year, almost cutting the 720 workforce in half.

Tony Fox, managing director at the Wingates Industrial Estate factory, said: "Close communication with union officials and elected staff representatives has proved effective to date.

"Voluntary redundancies account for 95 per cent of job losses so far."

The workforce had been prepared for the job losses because there had been reports that the firm had lost a major contract to supply kitchen units to DIY retailer B&Q.

The contract made up to 60 per cent of the firm's business. Management was unable to replace the lost order.

It is the second major jobs blow for Westhoughton in less than 12 months.

Aerospace firm Bellhouse Hartwell closed in July, leaving 170 engineers redundant.

Westhoughton Town Council leader and Bolton councillor David Wilkinson said: "I know it's not easy being part of a phased redundancy programme. It is like waiting for your turn to go.

"This is not good news for the people and economy of Westhoughton.

"The manufacturing industry doesn't seem to be doing well at the moment and we didn't have a lot of work here to begin with."