Up to 143 jobs are to be axed after a machine manufacturer revealed it was closing a plant near Wolverhampton.

Engineering giant Sandvik Machining Solutions plans to shut its Featherstone plant and move production out of the UK.

A spokesman for the company said it had “excess manufacturing capacity in Europe”.

The Featherstone plant is expected to close at the end of the year.

The spokesman said: “The reason is due to excess manufacturing capacity in Europe. To remain competitive the company needs to reduce production costs by concentrating production in fewer plants. The Featherstone unit carries the smallest volume of any of the company’s European plants and volumes for this type of product are not growing in the UK.

“The decision is in line with the wider Sandvik Machining Solutions restructuring program announced on December 17, 2013, to ensure long-term competitiveness.

Swedish parent company Sandvik has other production bases in Coventry, Halesowen and Stoke-on-Trent, and said they were unaffected.

The company makes metal-cutting tools for engineering, aerospace and car firms, which it said were “not growing in the UK”.

The firm said it “very much regrets the need for this action” and has begun discussions with the Unite trade union, which represents many of the workers.