AN AXE is hanging over the heads of Gwent metal firm workers after Alcan Europe announced it is to shed between 900 and 1,000 workers.

Gwent workers were told of the company's plans to lose hundreds of jobs from its 52,000 global workforce, which will mean the axe falling on some jobs at the Rogerstone mill. One worker described today's announcement as like "an axe hanging over our heads" as the exact number of jobs likely to be lost in Gwent is yet to be revealed.

Alcan, which has a 650-job factory at Rogerstone, is part of Alcan Rolled Products. Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) Rogerstone works branch chairman John Burke told the Argus the first he knew of the possibility of the job cuts was from workers this morning.

Speaking after this morning's meeting with local management, Mr Burke said: "What we heard in rumours before the meeting appears to be true - Alcan says, because of global market conditions, it is to cut between five and seven per cent of its 52,000 workforce world-wide initially.

"And they said between 900 and 1,000 are to go in rolled products fabrication in Europe, which we are part of and which will affect us, but they gave us no detail at all about the amount of jobs that could go from here at Rogerstone, but that that detail would follow some time in the future.

"We have been told that it is very likely that we will be affected here in Rogerstone, but by just how many job losses I just don't know - it is all uncertainty now. We have just been left in the dark by this announcement."

He said workers were told at the meeting that precise details would be revealed over the next few months.

The job losses will add to the 171 which were shed at the plant this year with the closure of the foil mill.

Alcan originally announced 220 redundancies at the Rogerstone plant, but after union intervention 49 of that number were saved, with the last of those set to leave the plant in the next couple of weeks.