A BATTERY factory in Newport has laid off 82 workers, according to multiple sources among the firm's staff.

One EnerSys employee told the South Wales Argus that the lay-offs affected employees with less than two years' service at the factory.

Some night-shift workers, he claimed, finished their shifts in the early hours of Tuesday morning last week (January 21), and were then told they were out of work.

Another EnerSys employee, from Newport, said the workforce had been treated "terribly".

"There's been a total disregard for people and their situations," he said. "I've seen this happen before, and I've become friends with a lot of men who have been laid off."

He said the news followed recent shift changes, which had caused "a lot of trouble" for workers trying to adapt to them.

"People who work at EnerSys are totally loyal, but they are being slapped in the face all the time," he said.

"Morale is absolutely at rock bottom."

The Argus has also been told by a source who wished to remain anonymous that some workers were called "out of the blue" last week and told they had lost their jobs.

The Argus understand that the union Unite represents many of the staff at the factory, in Stephenson Street.

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EnerSys is based in the United States but has factories around the world. The firm manufactures batteries for various industries including forklift trucks, railway signals, and medical equipment; as well as battery products for the defence hardware including drones, torpedoes, and helicopters.

EnerSys and Unite have been contacted for comment.