A UNION representative supporting the workers of an historic Worcester factory which is set to close with the loss of around 150 jobs, says staff are shocked.

The Joy Mining plant in Bromyard Road, previously called Meco, is set to close by 2023 its owners Komatsu have said.

Stuart Baker, from the Unite trade union, said staff had been told the work would be moved overseas, but had been shocked as the plant had been working throughout the pandemic.

"It is a blow to the community," he said.

"It has come as a big shock to the workforce. They went through a glorious period, prior to Covid last year, they were in a buoyant position.

"Their order book was good, they were taking new staff on at the time.

"During the pandemic it didn't effect them, they carried on working to fulfil their orders, no furlough.

"They even got a pay rise in November, which wasn't done through a normal negotiation, management just said here it is, which came as a surprise.

"And over the last 12 months at least one of the departments has had significant investment for a refurb, a really investment in the building. They saw that as setting them up.

"There was another management meeting on Wednesday where it was hoped there would be more detail on the proposed closure, when different departments would be closing and when redundancies would happen.

"But as yet there is very little detail coming from management, and that is adding to the frustration and the current morale."

The only official comment made by owners Komatsu to this paper has been to highlight a March press release about a new partnership with other manufacturers, to make some of the equipment made under the Joy brand.

The statement said: “There may be changes to the company’s manufacturing footprint as a result of this shift, impacting Komatsu’s Manchester and Worcester facilities in the United Kingdom, but no immediate changes have been announced and there are no further details available at this time.”

Jason Savage, senior vice president at Komatsu Mining Corp, added in that press release: “We are focused on working with our employees and our customers to make this transition as smooth as possible.”

READ MORE: Historic Worcester manufacturing firm set to close, leading to '150 jobs lost'