REDUNDANCIES are feared at the Keighley offices of international escalator and lift manufacturer Kone.

Kone’s UK communications department this week confirmed the company had “initiated the consultation process” with employees at the premises off Dalton Lane.

But a spokesman could not confirm how many job losses this would mean in Keighley, or how many were currently employed there.

The spokesman said: “Earlier this year we launched a new strategy for our customers, and new services in the UK. One of the next phases is bringing our customer services teams under one umbrella.”

The spokesman confirmed many of the UK customer services staff worked at the Keighley premises, which can be seen from the Aire Valley Road near Victoria Park.

Finland-based Kone announced in September plans to cut around 1,000 jobs from its 52,000-strong global workforce to boost profitability in the face of currency fluctuations and weaker demand from China.

In 2009 about 320 people were working at the KONE complex in Keighley, when 59 were put at risk of redundancy. An estimated 200 were working there in 2015.