General manager Brian Stevenson said the parent company, Abitibi-Consolidated, still remained committed to both the UK and Bridgewater.

He said the proposed job cuts formed part of a restructuring of the Cheshire plant to make it more efficient and competitive.

The 60 jobs would be cut across the board as the company had looked at all aspects of the business.

Voluntary redundancies are expected to form part of the losses, but compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out.

As with most manufacturers in the industry, Stevenson said current market conditions remained challenging.

Consultative talks commenced at the end of February and could last the full 30 days.

Bridgewater Paper is one of the UKs three recycled newsprint mills, with a production capacity of 289,000 tonnes per annum of both standard and coloured newsprint.

Significant investment has been made at the plant over the past few years, and 1m is currently being spent on upgrading one of its paper machines.

It is owned by Canadian-based Abitibi-Consolidated, one of the worlds largest manufacturers of newsprint.

Story by Andy Scott