By Lars Niven

IN ANOTHER black day on the Scottish jobs front, Fife clothing manufacturer Castleblair confirmed yesterday that it is planning to shed 380 jobs.

The decision will lead to the closure of its Glenrothes factory and leave just 50 or so people in Dunfermline employed in warehousing, design, product development, finance and IT.

Castleblair’s announcement follows Wednesday’s shock news that Standard Life is set to demutualise and axe nearly 900 jobs in Edinburgh.

Speculation had been mounting for some weeks that the firm, which employed 482 at the start of the year, was planning to shut its Scottish factories and switch production to Turkey.

The news was not entirely unexpected. In February, Castleblair announced it had entered into talks with the GMB union over the future of the factories.

It blamed pressure to drive down costs for the situation.

Management have been in talks with union officials, politicians and enterprise chiefs to see if there was some way of protecting the workforce.

However, those attempts have failed.

Castleblair’s finance director Gordon Forbes confirmed everyone’s worst fears in a statement issued yesterday.

Mr Forbes said the company felt forced to clarify recent reports that the factories would simply shut at the end of this month.

“We are still involved in the consultation process with our employees, but the situation continues to be very difficult,” he added.

“Despite the support of the GMB union, the Scottish Executive and local MSPs, none of the efforts to find alternative work has been successful.”

Mr Forbes added, “It has been identified, however, that certain functions will be retained in Scotland, which will maintain some employment here.

“However, it is anticipated that there will be a phased run-down of production in Scotland, which will eventually mean the loss of around 380 jobs.

“There will not, however, be a sudden closure at the end of April.”

The jobs will be phased out gradually as orders run out and eventually the Glenrothes plant will close.

GMB Scotland, which represents many of the workers at the two plants, reacted angrily to the news.

Senior organiser Ian King said, “This is a very sad day for a once great industry.

“Clothing and textiles made up approximately 25% of all manufacturing jobs in the 60s and 70s, but now we are witnessing the death of an institution.”

He added, “We were in a global competitive war which we just could not win and I am outraged that next to nothing was done to protect this ailing industry.

“We have witnessed its demise for too long with great names, such as Levi Strauss, Jaeger, Bairdwear and Daks Simpson, all being sacrificed to low-wage economies.”

Regional secretary Harry Donaldson said, “This announcement will devastate our members, their families and the community.

“We must now demand that major resources are provided involving all agencies working together and by ensuring that retraining and skills development become a priority in enabling these workers to find alternative jobs.

“We are calling on the Executive to ensure that every support at their disposal is provided.”

Scottish Enterprise Fife’s chief executive Joe Noble said, “This is disappointing news. We understand that this has been a very difficult decision for the company which it has made due to global market pressures.

“We have met previously with the company, union representatives and local MSPs to discuss ways to avoid this situation, but other options proved unfeasible.”

Mr Noble said SEF would do everything it could to help the affected workers find alternative employment.