Michelin, Ballymena: Bad news expected ahead of staff meeting

All staff have been called to a meeting at the factory on Tuesday

All staff at the Michelin factory in Ballymena, County Antrim, have been called to a meeting at 12:00 GMT.

The company has not said what the meeting is for, but political sources have told the BBC "bad news" is expected.

The factory, which has been operating in the town since 1969, employs about 1,000 people.

It makes truck and bus tyres mainly for export to the US.

In recent years, Michelin executives had warned that high energy costs in Northern Ireland have been making the Ballymena plant uncompetitive.

BBC News NI Business Editor John Campbell said he had been told by a source at Michelin that production was to stop at 11:00 GMT for a briefing at 12:00 GMT and that there would be no production on Tuesday night.

Otherwise, he said the source did not know what was happening.