Bosses at Irvine’s GSK plant have announced jobs are set to be axed in a shock round of redundancies.

We can reveal the announcement was made to workers on Tuesday, December 5 - just 20 days before Christmas.

The Herald understands that 55 posts are set to go but 11 new jobs will be created under the new structure - meaning 44 jobs will be axed completely.

The Herald also understands there will be no option for voluntary redundancies.

The pharmaceutical giant would not confirm how many staff would be losing their jobs, however they did confirm jobs would be going.

A GSK spokesperson said: “GSK Irvine is vital to our medicines manufacturing network around the world, and will continue to remain so.

“Following a review of our work at the site, we are proposing to make some changes to the site which will potentially impact a small number of employees.

“We have spoken with colleagues and will support those impacted by the news, consulting with them and their representatives appropriately over the coming months.”

Jamie Greene, MSP, said he will be writing to GSK bosses regarding the redundancies.

He said: “Redundancies can often have profound effects on communities. We should remember that losing income is as much an emotional challenge as it is a financial one, especially at this time of year. So first and foremost my thoughts are with the families involved.

“As a private company GSK is of course within its rights to restructure but by doing so it should always take into account the impact of its decisions on the local community. It is still a major local employer so it makes sense to constructively work with them on the issue.

“I will however be writing to GSK at a national level to seek assurances that it is doing everything it can to mitigate the impact of these redundancies and also be writing to the Scottish Government to ensure that re-employability options are being fully explored for those affected.

“This adds to the call that Scotland must remain at the forefront of business growth and that we should all we working together to increase employment opportunities in Scotland.”