Hundreds of jobs could be lost in Northern Ireland following a decision by Marks & Spencer to terminate a long-term contract with William Baird, a Glasgow-based clothes manufacturers.
Baird Clothing, which employs around 500 people in two factories in Bangor and Newtownards, Co Down, has exclusively manufactured clothes for Marks & Spencer over the past 30 years. Across the United Kingdom, the company has a workforce of around 4,000 whose jobs could be threatened by M&S's decision.
Management and staff at the two Co Down plants yesterday said they were shocked and dismayed by the announcement, which had come "completely out of the blue".
The company's chief executive, Mr David Suddens said Baird's had participated in a strategic review with a company of consultants but had not been informed of its outcome.
"It was a bolt from the blue. We had no inkling that M&S would choose to eliminate one of its four biggest suppliers," he added.
"We will do all that we can to protect as much employment as we can and we will start discussions with M&S next week. Obviously, they (the employees) have my sympathy," Mr Suddens told BBC Radio Ulster. Baird Clothing, the division which supplies clothing to M&S, made a loss of £4 million sterling (€6.2 million) on sales of £80.1 million in the first half of this year.
M&S chief executive, Mr Peter Salsbury, had called on Mr Suddens at Baird's London headquarters on Wednesday to explain the move.
Mr Salsbury said M&S wanted to achieve greater benefits of scale by focusing on suppliers with dominant market positions.
Following two profit warnings in recent months, M&S has been accelerating the shift away from its traditional policy of buying in Britain and Northern Ireland in favour of sourcing from lower-cost overseas suppliers.
In the 1970s, M&S bought some 90 per cent of clothing from domestic suppliers but the balance had now shifted closer to the 50/50 split that Mr Salsbury recently indicated was the goal.
The national secretary for the clothing and textiles section of Britain's general union GMB, Mr Des Farrell, was "absolutely disgusted'. He said the union had had no indication of M&S's intentions and he was concerned at the effect the decision would have on suppliers to Baird, which could lead to thousands of job losses across the UK.
A spokesman for GMB Northern Ireland, Mr Terry Ruddy, said the union was hopeful that Baird workers would remain in employment until Christmas and that some could then transfer to the firm's main competitors in the North.
A financial director for M&S said the company's decision was based purely on business considerations and had nothing to do with recent sales difficulties.
Baird also owns Lowe Alpine, which has a manufacturing plant in Tullamore, Co Offaly, which is the centre for the production of Lowe's range of fleeces and employs more than 260 people.
Lowe was taken over by Baird in a £21 million sterling deal in April which was seen by industry analysts at the time as a strategic move to reduce its dependence on the British retail market.
Lowe has one of the highest profile brands in the outdoor industry and has successfully developed a range of branded clothing products. When contacted senior management in the company were not available for comment.
A spokesman for M&S said it had no direct dealing with Lowe Alpine in the Republic and all the company's clothing products were sourced by its UK operations.