AS many as 80 people are set to lose their jobs at a factory that makes car parts in Worcester because of a drop in orders.

The redundancies are at Hydro Aluminium Worcester, on Williamson Road, off Newtown Road.

It is part of the multi-national Hydro company - one of the leading suppliers of aluminium and offshore producers of oil and gas in the world.

The Worcester site, which supplies components for firms including Aston Martin and Jaguar, is up for sale.

Managing director Bob Dorney-Smith said that although it might seem insensitive to reveal the information at Christmas, the workers have known about the company's problems and the possibilty of losing their jobs since April.

"Because the workforce have known for a while they have been wanting to know because they didn't want to be left in the dark until after Christmas," he said.

"We are having to make the cuts because of the way the market has been at the moment. We have been working our socks off to get more customers but unfortunately it's just not been possible to resolve the situation."

Mr Dorney-Smith said that Hydro's success internationally in the gas and oil industries along with the decline of the automotive industry has caused it to withdraw its interest in the Worcester factory.

He said: "We need to continue meeting the requirements of our customers. Hydro recognises that a new owner will help secure our future."

An in-depth consultation period will now take place until February to identify the workers who will lose their jobs.

Although an exact date is not yet known for when the losses will take place, the redundancies will be completed by Sunday, April 1, and will leave the Worcester site with about 140 employees.

Hydro Aluminium Worcester has delivered around 40,000 frames to its customers since it was opened in 1999