Shelforce review concerns employees

Shelforce employees held a meeting at the Jaguar Sports and Social Club

People with learning difficulties working at a Birmingham Council-run factory have said they fear for their livelihoods.

The authority announced a review of Shelforce, which makes UPVC doors and windows, in December.

It said the Erdington factory, which employs 95 people and actively recruits people with disabilities, had posted losses for several years.

The council's cabinet is expected to discuss its future on 16 January.

Speaking at a public meeting at Jaguar Sports and Social Club on Thursday evening, Labour MP for Erdington Jack Dromey said Shelforce had been "a lifeline for the most vulnerable in Birmingham".

He said the council should be "ashamed" if it decided to cut jobs at Shelforce.

Birmingham City Council, which is run by a Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition, said it did not expect to have to make compulsory redundancies.

The authority added that it could not continue to subsidise the company at current levels, but hoped to establish a "commercially competitive operating model".

The authority, which is attempting to make savings of £65m, is scheduled to ratify its proposed budget for 2012-13 on 28 February.