Business secretary Sajid Javid has been urged to “bang heads together” to address the threat to 330 jobs at Goodyear’s Wolverhampton plant.

Unite, the country’s largest union, has called on the Bromsgrove MP to put pressure on the firm’s US bosses to hold “genuine” consultations after plans to axe the plant were announced.

The union claims the decision to close the West Midlands plant was a political one, made in the US and rubber-stamped by the UK management.

Unite regional secretary for the West Midlands Gerard Coyne said it had nothing to do with its excellent productivity record, profitability or exchange rates.

He said: “We believe that this was a political decision taken by the US bosses of Goodyear as a sop to shareholders and because it is easier to fire UK workers than their European counterparts.

“The UK management has not presented a business case for closure which will be a body blow to the workers and the regional economy. The strings are being pulled by the US headquarters management in Akron, Ohio. The closure is political, and not based on a coherent business case.

“That’s why we have asked for Sajid Javid to intervene with Goodyear in America, so that UK workers have a level playing field when their jobs could go to less productive, less profitable plants in either France or Germany.

“We will be seeking a legal review into the non-existence of a genuine consultation exercise – and, in the meantime, we are calling for the company to enter into meaningful talks.”

The Post first reported plans to close the factory in June, despite claims it is “highly productive and profitable” .

The plans put an end to decades of Goodyear Dunlop manufacturing in the West Midlands.

The factory mixes the rubber compounds for tyres, as well as re-treading tyres. The re-tread division is expected to close in the middle of next year and the rubber compounds by January 2017.

A spokesperson for Goodyear said although the minimum time for the consultation process has now ended, no formal request to extend this has been received from the union.

“More meetings between the company and the Union are scheduled and talks continue,” he said, adding the company will issue a formal statement once there is an announcement to be made.