THE troubled Westbury Dairies plant has shed one sixth of its work force just months after it was saved from closure.

One member of staff said workers were in tears when they were told of the redundancies.

Westbury Dairies was saved from administration when a consortium of three milk firms sealed a takeover bid in October 2003.

On Monday, 12 operations technicians were told their contracts had finished and were asked to leave the building 24 hours later.

A member of staff, who did not wish to be named, said: "Grown men were in tears when they were told, many of them had left good jobs to join Westbury Dairies on the promise the company was doing well."

A spokesman for Westbury Dairies said: "Westbury Dairies is worth £80m to the faming community every year so it is vital it is run efficiently.

"The 12 staff were brought in to deal with the spring flush and were only on a six-month probation period. The plant is running more efficiently now and this is why we no longer needed the 12 operations technicians. Westbury Dairies is not in trouble. It is vital to farmers from the tip of Scotland to the tip of England and is doing extremely well."