MORE than 70 jobs will be axed by building products group Marshalls, it has been announced.

The Birkby-based group said it planned to cut jobs at three sites - Brighouse Hipperholme and Southowram.

Marshalls, which also has premises at Lowfields Business Park in Elland, said the cutbacks were needed "to secure the long-term future of the business" and safeguard remaining jobs.

Marshalls said it would cease manufacturing at Hipperholme by the end of April with the loss of 32 jobs.

Work would transfer to Southowram and other sites around the group.

At the West Lane site in Southowram, increased automation would result in 28 redundancies.

And the introduction of automation at Brookfoot, Brighouse, would mean the loss of 17 jobs there.

Marshalls is a major employer in the Huddersfield and Halifax areas with more than 1,000 staff.

It supplies stone and clay products with products such as patio paving, flagstones and drainage pipes for the construction and DIY sectors.

Marshalls, which has quarries at Shepley, has supplied stone for projects on landmark sites such as the British Museum and Trafalgar Square in London.

Announcing the job cuts, Neil Runkee, manufacturing director for Marshalls' landscape division, said the group was seeking voluntary redundancies in the first instance.

He said: "We are now in the formal process of consultation regarding our proposals and we are talking with our people and the trade unions on order to resolve this regrettable situation."

Mr Runkee said the changes would mean an improved service for customers, introduce health and safety benefits and enable the group to remain competitive.

But he said: "Automation brings with it additional efficiencies which have resulted in overstaffing and, unfortunately, this now needs to be resolved."

Marshalls is a major employer in the Huddersfield and Halifax areas with more than 1,000 staff.

The job cuts come just weeks after Marshalls announced the £65m sale of its clay products division to building materials group Hanson.

That division, employing 350 people in Yorkshire and Lancashire, recorded sales of £34m in 2004.