According to the company, the move is down to the plant's inability to compete internationally, not the current dispute with Unite.

Unite, which has been embroiled in a dispute at the plant for the past two months said it will fight the closure, which it described as "appalling" and accused the company of failing to consult over the redundancies.

Unite employees went on strike in February due to the terms and selection criteria offered by the company over potential redundancies announced in late 2011.

The strikes turned ugly a week later (17 February), leading to employees being locked out of the plant, which hasn't been in production since.

Earlier this month (20 March) MMP informed 49 members of staff that they had been made redundant.

However, the remaining 109 employees at the site were sent a letter this morning (29 March) stating that the plant would not reopen, with existing employees offered a redundancy package which, according to the company, is "in excess" of the statutory minimum.

A statement from the company said: "The decision reflects a continuing decline in the plant’s international competitiveness over recent years.

"It follows previous rounds of redundancies in 2008, 2010 and early 2012 and comes after careful consideration of a number of factors including the economic situation, latest market developments and the demands of customers."

According to Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke, the company has said that no consultation will take place with employees, a claim which the company rejected.

He said: "MMP has riden a coach and horses through employment rights, we will not accept this, we believe the way they have acted is appalling, they certainly couldn't get away with it in Austria [MMP's base].

"We have been asking for a meeting for four weeks, general secretary Len McCluskey asked them to meet with our representative. It is they that locked the gates, they threw everybody out. There has been a catalogue of high-handedness."

Burke claimed that action of the union had "absolutely not" led to the plant's closure.

"The members took part in lawful industrial action," he said. "For the last four weeks this hasn't been a strike, this has been a lock-out, we have been trying to get a meeting, they never got back to us."

Unite members will visit the Austrian Embassy in London tomorrow (29 March) to state its case to the Austrian Ambassador  Emil Brix.