A BOLTON tissue factory is up for sale following its takeover by a Swedish company — but bosses refuse to say if there will be job losses.

The Georgia Pacific factory in Middlebrook, which has 300 staff, is one of two UK sites to be sold after being bought by Swedish firm SCA Hygiene Products.

Unions have been left shocked by the news and are demanding more details.

SCA has been ordered by the European Union to sell some of its new sites meaning the Middlebrook factory and another in Bridgend, south Wales, are for sale.

Unions also want an EU representative to explain the conditions in detail to them.

The sale was completed last Thursday.

An SCA spokesman in Sweden told The Bolton News : “This news was communicated to staff last week so SCA is just beginning the work to takeover Georgia Pacific’s tissue operations in Europe. We have six months to sell the Bolton factory, according to EU guidelines, but may get more time if needed.”

Jan Johansson, SCA’s president and chief executive, said: “We are pleased we now have closed the deal. The acquisition is a strategic fit that will strengthen our product range with well-known brands and geographic reach in Europe.”

But union bosses say staff are fearful for their jobs .

North West Unite officer Nora Ashton added: “Workers want some stability for the future. Many have long service and have been there for 20 years or so.

“They’ve just changed owners and have got to go through all this again. It’s a good business. Morale is low but we have to be hopeful they will get a buyer for both sites as going concerns or individually.”

SCA said its newly-bought operations generated sales of Euro 1.25 billion last year.

Before the deal, Georgia-Pacific had 15 production sites in seven European countries and about 5,000 staff.

SCA is the world’s third-largest supplier of paper and forestry-based products. It has bought Georgia Pacific’s European tissue business for Euro 1. 3 billion.

The Georgia Pacific site at Ramsbottom is not affected by the sale.