TWO flagship Bolton companies are making job cuts.

A consultation process has started with 180 Yates Group employees who work at Peter Yates House, Manchester Road.

The numbers involved are expected to be known later this month.

Also, dabs.com -- the current Bolton and Bury Company of the Year -- is to make seven people redundant when it closes its consumer telesales department from September 30.

The Westhoughton-based computer seller, which will then have just under 200 employees, is concentrating on Internet sales.

But there is good news for the 140 employees at Hitachi Automotive Products Europe Ltd in Horwich.

The factory has escaped unscathed from a major restructuring exercise, which will see the Japanese electronics giant lose 14,700 jobs worldwide.

Mike Hennessy, executive chairman of the Yates Group, said some of the job losses would be voluntary and some would be compulsory.

Mr Hennessy took over in July from Peter Dickson, the great grandson of Peter Yates, the man who founded the famous Wine Lodge chain in 1884.

Mr Dickson was responsible for a dramatic improvement in the company's fortunes as it expanded the Wine Lodge brand and others throughout the country following a Stock Market flotation in 1994.

But he left this year after two profit warnings to shareholders and abortive discussions with a third party which could have led to the group being taken over.

Mr Hennessy said 18 under-performing Wine Lodges were now being sold as going concerns and the company's investment programme had been suspended. But he stressed the company was very profitable.

He said when he took over the job: "The strength of the balance sheet enables us to take the action required to maintain the company's position as one of the best-performing operators on the high street."

Dave Atherton, managing director of dabs.com, said: "This was a difficult decision, but over 90 per cent of our consumer business is self-served on our website. The staff involved have been offered an enhanced redundancy package."

Akira Miyamoto, managing director at the Hitachi site in Horwich, said: "Further to the announcement by Hitachi Ltd, we would like to confirm the proposed changes do not affect the automotive division."