FILOFAX is to close two manufacturing plants in Sussex with the loss of about 130 jobs.

Its bases in Burgess Hill and Littlehampton will shut by the end of June as part of a drive to cut costs.

The firm behind the personal organiser, which became a status symbol for so-called yuppies in the Eighties, is moving its manufacturing operation overseas. It says rising interest rates in Britain and a strong pound have made it tough for exporters.

Managing director Christopher Brace said he was "very sad" about the job losses, but said the company's worldwide sourcing and logistics operations would remain in Burgess Hill.

In 1998 Filofax was the subject of a £50.3 million buy-out from

its American equivalent, Day Runner.

News of the job cuts at the plants, in Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, and Riverside Industrial Estate, Littlehampton, have dismayed town leaders.

John Stevens, chairman of Littlehampton Traders Partnership, said it was another blow after several large companies, including the town's biggest employer, Body Shop, and the Littlehampton Book Company, announced job losses during the past 12 months.

Kim Bolton, 31, of Vallance Road, Lewes, who runs the staff canteen at Filofax in Burgess Hill, said: "We heard about it yesterday afternoon. They called us all together and Chris Brace, the managing director, told us.

"We knew something was going to happen. The company has been going downhill for the last year, but it was still a bit of a shock."

Burgess Hill town councillor, Gill Balsdon, said: "We are very sorry to lose a company like that from Burgess Hill. We want local people to work locally.

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