ELECTRONICS giant Siemens has laid off a further 30 workers at its Congleton factory due to a continuing drop in orders.

The company said the "dip'' in orders was seasonal, and the job losses were among its temporary workforce.

The lay-offs bring to 79 the number of jobs lost among temporary workers at Siemens' drives production factory in Congleton since November.

A company spokesman said Siemens had been forced to reduce its temporary workforce also because of the decision by its customers to reduce their stock levels.

''Several measures have been taken to limit the effect on staff of the downturn in orders,'' he said.

''Our management team has worked tirelessly to put into place many cost-containing measures in other overhead areas of the business to ensure we retain our position in the highly competitive drives market place.

''Taking this step will not only allow us to remain profitable but also shows a flexibility and ability to react to market requirements.''

Overall the drives business at Congleton remained profitable, he added, and was still forecast to record significant growth on last year's results.

Some 32 temporary workers were laid off at the factory before Christmas, following a further 17 layoffs in November.

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