"Flexible packaging firms are facing a lot of competition from Eastern Europe and Russia," said Amicus GPMS national officer Peter Ellis. "Frankly, we can't compete."

Amcor Flexibles has proposed the closure of its Bristol Colodense site.

The move is part of the Australian packaging group's European restructure, which it said is a response to "relocation of parts of our customer base to low-cost, high-growth markets like Eastern Europe".

Confectionery firm Mars, a major client of Colodense, announced plans to transfer some of its manufacturing to Eastern Europe in March last year.

Amcor also quoted highly competitive markets, lower retail prices and overcapacity, as well as increases in raw material, energy and transport costs as driving factors of the closure.

The firm has entered a 90-day consultation period with Amicus GPMS and workers. It plans to begin a phased closure of the site in July, with the aim of ceasing production by the end of the year.

It is setting up a "job shop" and a number of other programmes to help staff find jobs at one of the 10 remaining Amcor sites or elsewhere.

Colodense prints packaging for the confectionery and snack food sectors. The site employs 175 staff and houses gravure, flexo and lamination equipment.

Amcor said work from the Bristol plant would be moved to other Amcor sites in the UK and Western Europe, not to its own facilities in Eastern Europe.

Brand Packaging was placed in administration on 17 February. Joint administrators Brian Green and Paul Flint of KPMG Corporate Restructuring have since made 47 of the Salford firm's 92 staff redundant, but are still hopeful of finding a buyer for the 8.7m turnover flexible packaging company.

A very competitive market, downward price pressure and the trend of work moving overseas were highlighted as some of the reasons for Brand's problems. "In some cases end customers... have sourced their production overseas and the print has followed suit," said Flint.