LONG SERVING staff at a Harlow distribution company could face redundancy under proposals to close down their warehouse.

Thirty four employees at publisher Faber and Faber Ltd, on the Burnt Mill industrial estate, could lose their jobs if the closure plans are given the go-ahead. Four of these staff have been working there for over 30 years,

The bombshell was dropped on Wednesday, when the publishing company announced that its customer service and distributions business would be undertaken by Macmillan Distribution Limited (MDL), from March 1999.

As a result, Faber's warehouse could shut down, making 34 permanent staff members redundant and cutting short four further fixed term contract posts.

However, the company intends to move its accounts and computer departments to a new Harlow site once the warehouse has ceased functioning.

And Faber Music Ltd, an associated but separately managed sheet music distribution company, hopes to stay at the Harlow location for at least another year.

Faber's managing director Tony Faber said the proposals would be subject to consultation with the Graphical Paper and Media Union (GPMU), and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) which represent the company's Harlow staff.

But if plans are given the green light, he assured employees affected that Faber would do their utmost to help them find new jobs.

Mr Faber said: "This was a difficult decision to have to take. We have had a warehouse in Harlow for almost 40 years and some of the affected employees have been with the company for over 30 years.

"It has been made inevitable by economies of scale in book distribution and increasing investment in technology. To be effective in book distribution we need to have a bigger turnover.

"By moving to MDL we will be able to give a good service to our customers at a lower cost than we could ever achieve on our own in Harlow."

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