Gurit has confirmed it is consulting over 14 redundancies at its site in Newport, affecting various departments and functions.

They were announced to staff on May 12.

As the Isle of Wight County Press reported earlier, staff are waiting to find out the outcome of the consultation.

The composite firm, which is a major Isle of Wight employer, is blaming supply issues and increasing costs.

In a statement, Gurit said: "The Newport production site has been and remains under significant pressure on cost and volume.

"Recent supply chain issues and accelerated raw material costs contribute to an extremely challenging outlook, without any favourable changes to be expected in the wider market any time soon.

"The company has made progress in reducing production costs, increasing efficiencies, not replacing recent leavers freezing non-essential recruitment. All these previous efforts have helped to mitigate part of the burden for the business.

"Hence, both situations in conjunction mean it is no longer sustainable to continue making a loss within this part of our business. Therefore, we were forced to consider labour cost reductions to maintain a viable business presence in the UK for the future.

"Gurit’s Newport management team will make every effort to facilitate this necessary change fairly, while continuing to service customers and remaining fully committed to maintaining a viable business in the UK."