FEARS for the jobs of more than 80 North-East workers increased last night after a tobacco company announced it is moving production overseas.

Cigarette giant British American Tobacco (BAT) is to switch production from its main UK factory in Southampton to the Far East.

The news is a fresh blow for North-East workers who moved to the south coast plant after BAT closed its Rothmans factory in Darlington last July,.

The Darlington closure resulted in the loss of 500 jobs, but about 85 workers transferred to Southampton and some commute there each week.

Last night, the company said it planned to transfer the production of 6.2 billion cigarettes to factories in Korea and Singapore.

The move is expected to start in November and be completed by next summer.

Allan Short, BAT's head of UK and Ireland operations, said: "This represents a significant loss of volume in Southampton, but the benefits of the localisation for our customers are clear.

"Costs of production in the Far East are far lower and the factories in Singapore and Korea are much closer to the destination markets."

The company said it had instigated a review of its factory at Southampton and its supply chain operation.

Managers said they would assess what options existed for attracting replacement production or for continuing to operate on the lower-volume business.

The review is expected to take up to two months to complete.

The Southampton factory, which manufactures cigarette brands including Dunhill, Rothmans and Lucky Strike, employs about 660 people on manufacturing, more than half of BAT's UK workforce.

Amicus said it was seeking urgent talks with the company and pledged to fight any compulsory redundancies.

National officer Iain MacLean said: "This is a huge kick in the teeth for BAT's loyal workers and a devastating blow for the local economy.

"These are well-paid and highly-skilled jobs which Southampton can ill-afford to lose."

Amicus said it wanted reassurances about the factory's future.

Workers were given the news last night, although the company made no announcement about any impact on jobs.

Earlier this year, BAT announced profits of £2.8bn, but said it was planning substantial savings in its supply chain. The company had refused to rule out job losses after raising its cost-cutting targets and announcing a 20 per cent increase in profits.

BAT employs about 86,000 people at 87 factories in 66 countries around the world. Pre-tax profits in the year to December 31 were £1.9bn, compared with £1.6bn the year before.