MORE than 50 staff at an egg production firm in Headcorn have been told they are to be made redundant.

A total of 53 staff on the packing side of Freshlay Ltd in Maidstone Road, Headcorn, received official notification that their jobs are to go.

The firm said it took the decision to cut the packing section of its Headcorn business, after a strategic review found it was significantly under-using its packing equipment at its four sites nationally and that Headcorn was the least used.

Shocked staff heard earlier this month that their jobs were being axed, although the rest of the workforce have been assured their jobs are safe.

One member of staff, who asked not to be named, said: "They have said it is because the company has lost an important contract. The worrying thing is that people are wondering whether the other jobs really are safe. Everyone is feeling very unsure about things."

The Headcorn site will still have its poultry sheds, staff working with the animals and farm workers.

Alan Clark, group finance director of Freshlay Ltd, said: "Freshlay is a group with more than £57m worth of turnover each year and has seen extensive growth in the last few years. As a result of our growth, we have four packing stations for the eggs. But following a strategic review, it was found that the we were using less than 50 per cent of the equipment available. Headcorn had the lowest capacity."

Mr Clark added: "There is a very good demand for eggs and we still have our poultry sheds there. There are absolutely no plans for any job cuts there."