WORKERS at troubled Elementis Chromium should know next week whether jobs will be saved.

Union representative Joe Keith, of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said bosses at Elementis, in Eaglescliffe, near Yarm, will reply to questions about the future of the site by next Wednesday.

He said the outcome of the meeting will determine whether workers go ahead with proposed industrial action over the decision to cut 120 jobs - more than half the workforce.

Mr Keith said: "We have put forward a proposal to the company about how we think the plant could be operated differently and the company has gone away to look at it and see if it will be feasible.

"It could mean saving some of the jobs."

Eighty-six per cent of the workers who took part in a consultative ballot last month voted in favour of taking industrial action.

Elementis announced the cuts in October, blaming soaring energy costs for continued losses at the plant. It is now undergoing a 90-day consultation period.

Union leaders believe finance company Hanover, which owns 15 per cent of Elementis, is at the heart of the job losses in its attempt to impress the City.

David Raw, Elementis' technical director, said yesterday: "We are in dialogue with the union and we look forward to the outcome from that."