AN extra 20 to 30 jobs are to be created in the Lee jeans factory in Ardee, Co Louth, the company has announced. This will bring total employment at the plant to around 350.

Lee (Ireland) Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the VF Corporation, a publicly quoted US company. Production at the Ardee plant is set to be increased by 15 per cent.

Lee has said its European sales have grown significantly as a result of its Gypsy Rose Lee commercial. It is now to launch a £20 million European advertising campaign aimed at building on the "younger, sexier" image created by the Gypsy Rose Lee campaign. The company has targeted the 20 to 24 year old female market.

The company is the only international branded jeans company with an Irish manufacturing plant. As well as Ardee, it also has production outlets in Northern Ireland, where 600 people are employed at Newtownards, Co Down and in Derry.