THE future for workers at the former Hall's factory in Radcliffe looks bleak.

Bury South MP Ivan Lewis and four employees of the Dumers Lane firm were left feeling "pessimistic" after a meeting on Monday with confectionery giant Cadbury Trebor Bassett.

The company has announced its intentions to close their Radcliffe operation next year with the loss of all 310 jobs. They claim it makes better financial sense to move production to the Americas.

Mr Lewis said: "They claimed the decision was to do with them having far more capacity than they needed and for economic reasons, when they looked across the entire group, Radcliffe was the obvious place to close. Its vulnerability is that the site is leased, rather than owned by the company. I still intend to pursue a number of issues with Cadbury's chief executive, but in the event of them not changing their mind, I will work to ensure the workforce get the best possible deal."