A COMPONENTS manufacturer that cut 120 jobs last year is now recruiting staff.

LG Philips, on the Belmont Industrial Estate, in Durham, has recruited 100 workers, taking the payroll back to 850 as it prepares to meet Europe-wide demand for television tubes.

It is driven by football fans across Europe buying sets for Euro 2004, and other sports enthusiasts gearing up for the Olympics.

Paul Beasley, human resources manager at LG Philips, said: "Major sporting events like the Olympics in Athens, and football tournaments, have driven up demand for new televisions throughout the continent.

"We have been recruiting since September to build staffing levels back up to previous levels."

The recruitment drive is a reversal of the trend that saw the factory cut 37 jobs in December and announce 90 redundancies earlier last year.

LG Philips closed its Washington plant in October, with the loss of 119 jobs. The plant, which employed more than 1,000 at its peak, laid off 300 workers in 2002 when the company moved production to Slovakia.

Mr Beasley said: "It remains hard to make money in a tough market, but we are working hard and the workforce is committed to making it work.

"Furthermore, there is less capacity as some companies have left the market."