Up to 1700 jobs are under threat in Yorkshire through plans for construction of a new state-of-the-art glass plant in the North West. The new plant would mean the loss of tens of millions of pounds from Yorkshire's economy and could close some of the region's manufacturing operations in the long term. The predictions for the glass manufacturing plants in Leeds and Knottingley are contained in a report commissioned by the Barnsley Development Agency. The report looks into the probable impact on the region's glass industry of a new plant in Cheshire which is proposed by Quinn Glass. The report says the Cheshire factory would likely mean the loss of between 1000-1700 jobs in Yorkshire. Most of the jobs would involve direct employees, but some would be lost from support industries such as packaging suppliers and maintenance firms.
