Some staff will be offered jobs at Polestar's other group companies, although the union and non-affiliated staff representatives have accepted that most of the 420 workers at the plant will have to look for new jobs.

Tony Burke, Amicus assistant general secretary, said that "some very difficult negotiations" over the last three weeks have resulted in "the best possible redundancy package for the workforce".

No further details of the terms were available this afternoon (15 July), but Burke is set to present the agreement to the Purnell workforce for their ratification on Monday. All union representatives are recommending the plan.

Alan Fraser, Polestar Purnell managing director, said that the agreement was "broadly in line" with terms agreed in last year's survival plan for the plant.

Burke said that the closure was part of the ongoing restructure in European magazine printing and warned that the seismic shift [in the gravure industry] caused by projects such as Polestar's Sheffield plant and the Prinovis plant in Liverpool "is not over".

He added: "The workforce [at Purnell] saw no prospect of turning the situation around. Many feel bitter and disappointed at the closure, and many members have told our officials that they just want to get on with their lives and look for new employment."

Rumours of a possible management buy-out had emerged soon after Polestar's announcement that it would close Purnell as of next March. But it soon became clear that the plan lacked substance.

Story by Josh Brooks