A TOTAL of 34 jobs at a Ramsbottom mill could be lost under proposals to close one of its paper machines.

Stubbins-based tissue makers SCA has begun a consultation period with workers at the site where 140 staff are employed.

Bosses at the company, based in Stubbins Lane, hope that if the job losses go ahead, they can be achieved by voluntary redundancy.

SCA bought the site in 2012 as part of a wider acquisition of Georgia Pacific’s European tissue operations and has since carried out an in-depth review of the UK and Republic of Ireland business.

This concluded with the proposal that one paper machine should be closed at the Stubbins site. The machine manufactures mother reels, used in the tissue industry to create a range of products.

SCA bosses have blamed oversupply in the mother reel industry, causing the machine to become surplus to requirements.

The period of consultation will be for a minimum of 30 days to give all employees the opportunity to ask questions and give their views.

Tony Richards, product supply director of SCA, said: “To remain a long-term sustainable employer in the UK, it is essential that we are able to operate effectively in the highly competitive tissue industry.

“Sadly, one of the paper machines at Stubbins makes a size of mother reel that does not have a great deal of demand in the UK at the moment and the cost to update the ageing machinery in the paper machine would be prohibitive due to its age and condition.

“Making proposals that could affect people’s livelihoods is always a very difficult decision for any company and we would not be doing so now without being confident that we had explored all potential strategies to help assure the future of the site."

SCA is the largest consumer tissue company in the UK and Ireland and its Stubbins mill is one of six across the UK.

Last year alone, 66 per cent of UK households bought SCA-branded products, such as TENA, Plenty, Cushelle, Velvet and Bodyform.