ABOUT 60 jobs have been lost at Croda International's plant on Teesside as part of the company's plans to cut 300 posts globally, The Northern Echo has learned.

The firm - which bought Uniqema from ICI for £410m last year, in a deal that included the plant at Wilton - announced in November it was to make redundancies throughout its operation, including 175 in Europe, as it brought its new acquisition into the main business.

After months of speculation over how extensive the cuts on Teesside would be, The Northern Echo can reveal that 60 workers from the 360-strong workforce at the Teesside plant have been axed, after unions and Croda agreed terms for a redundancy package.

The revelation came on the day that East Yorkshire-based Croda revealed plans to drive the business forward - reporting record earnings and margin growth for the year ending December 31.

The company posted a 7.3 per cent rise in annual profits, and a near 70 per cent surge in sales in continuing operations, from £305.6m in 2005 to £518.9m last year.

And already, based on trading figures for January, Croda is predicting it will meet its targets for 2007.

In a statement yesterday, Croda said: "The disruptions of restructuring are effectively behind us.

"The reorganisation has resulted in a large number of people leaving the company and, by 2008, we expect a reduction of about seven per cent in the original combined headcount."

It is understood that the axed workers at Wilton will begin leaving in April, with some expected to stay on at the plant until early next year. A minority of the 60 workers have been given alternative employment at Croda's site on Humberside.

Croda said that all of those workers in the company who were due to lose their jobs had now been informed.

"All the people leaving the new company have either already left or know the timing of their departure," the statement said.

"We are ready and fit for the challenge of delivering a leaner, more profitable company with solid growth prospects.

"Croda is a new company, combining the market-facing approach of Croda with the site-based operational skills of Uniqema."

Uniqema - which makes ingredients for products such as suncream and lipstick - was ICI's final remaining manufacturing operation in Teesside before being bought by Croda.

The Teesside site is one of 13 sites worldwide included in the deal.