The remaining 200 jobs at a Co Antrim textile manufacturer are at risk following the announcement yesterday that the firm has gone into receivership. Norfil had already announced 100 redundancies last month.

The company, which manufactures polyester yarn, is part of an Indonesian group, and first arrived in Northern Ireland in 1990. The plant went into production in 1995. It had been expected that the firm would employ around 900 people, but the figure never reached much more than 300. It is thought that the business has been badly affected by a downturn in demand, and by the continuing strength of sterling, which has made its product increasingly uncompetitive in its main European markets

The receiver, who arrived at the company yesterday, said an initial assessment will be made to see if the company can be sold as a going concern, or whether the closure of the plant is the only option.

The receiver will make a decision within the next few days.

The UUP mayor of Antrim, Mr Paddy Marks, said that coming so close to Christmas, the news was particularly distressing for everybody concerned. "We had been worried about the future of the plant since last month when we heard about the redundancies," Mr Marks said.

"The workers come from a wide area - from Antrim, Ballymena, and Magherafelt, but this is an area of very low unemployment, and we are hoping that many of the people who have been laid off will be able to find jobs elsewhere."