ALMOST 250 jobs could go at a Kidderminster firm under plans to transfer manufacturing to Poland.

Ceramaspeed Ltd is a producer of glass ceramic heating elements and electronic control systems. It has factories in the UK, USA, Mexico and Malaysia.

The company yesterday announced that it was beginning a consultation with employees at its Kidderminster site regarding proposals to transfer manufacturing to Poland, putting 240 jobs at risk.

Kevin Roberts, managing director, said: "We have a difficult decision to make in order to secure the viability of the company. We have to improve the company's cost structure and increase efficiency to protect our market share if we are to survive in a highly competitive environment.

"It is a fact that our labour costs and overheads in Kidderminster are higher than that of our competitors who supply from factories in Eastern Europe".

The company has stated that whilst under these proposals production in Kidderminster could reduce, some specialist production operations will be unaffected. It will also continue to maintain its global head office together with research and development and engineering at its Kidderminster location. This will secure the jobs of 100 employees.

Mr Roberts said there would be no immediate implications for employees, with production operations continuing as normal until December 2007 at the earliest.

The proposals call for a phased transfer of production from Kidderminster to Poland between January and December 2008.

Mr Roberts said: "We are acutely aware of the impact this will cause for our employees and their families. We'll work through these challenging times with compassion. We are committed to providing as much support as possible to our employees and to provide constant communications to keep everyone informed of developments."