The jobs of around 130 workers at a Hereford automotive components plant are thought to be in the balance as part of a major rationalisation by its owner.

It is believed that the Triplex Components Machining factory in Staniers Way could close at the end of year with production shifted to its sister plant in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Workers were believed to have been given their 90-day redundancy notices when they arrived for work on Tuesday. No-one from the company was available for comment.

The company is thought to have been affected by the decline in global manufacturing markets and is especially vulnerable to fluctuations in the automotive industry.

Triplex Components Machining evolved from the machining companies within the Triplex Components Group, which was acquired in November last year by the Amtek Group of India. Amtek also owns Ketlon, another automotive machining company based in Kent.

The Triplex site in Stratford-Upon-Avon was originally Peak Engineering and the company was established in 1940 to service the increasingly complex requirements of the automotive and defence industries based in the Midlands.

It then expanded to cover operations in Hereford, where a sister company, Aeroparts Engineering, existed separately until being merged with Peak in 1986.

Triplex is a major player in the European automotive component industry, supplying fully machined components and sub assemblies to leading automotive manufacturers such as Ford.

Its key markets are passenger and commercial vehicles, turbo chargers, diesel and petrol engines, and it exports to every continent around the world.

Amtek, which owns 38 manufacturing sites around the globe, said last year it was delighted with the acquisition as it believed it would enhance its overseas businesses and enable group sales to reach around £386 million a year.

The group’s worldwide revenue is estimated to be in excess of £670 million.