EXPERTS say that the closure of the Texas Instruments factory in Greenock would cost over 550 jobs and take more than £8.5m out of the economy EVERY year.

They say this reveals the full extent of the heavy toll that would be taken if the semi-conductor plant in Larkfield cannot be saved from the scrapheap.

Its owners want to shut it down and shift production to Germany, Japan and the United States over the next couple of years.

A special taskforce has been working to try and find a buyer to keep it going and the latest meeting of the rescue group heard details about the consequences of closure.

Members were told that the closure of the plant will result in the loss of 318 direct jobs and, based on employment and purchasing patterns, there are also 45 contractors in the company supply chain.

An assessment of the potential job losses including direct, indirect and induced jobs reveals that 564 jobs would be lost to the Scottish economy.

Non-wage spending which would be lost to the economy is estimated at over £8.5m, with £2.1m in the west of Scotland and nearly £6.4m the impact across the rest of the country.

On a more positive note, the taskforce has been told that a new interested party – an unnamed electronics firm – has joined the list of firms looking at mounting a possible takeover bid.

The group, chaired by Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe, is now aware of a total of five interested parties.

Councillor McCabe says the grim costs associated with the closure show just how important it is that one of the companies can be persuaded to seal a deal.

He said: “The scale of this closure clearly goes beyond the Inverclyde economy and will be felt in other areas of Scotland.

“These are sobering figures and ones that must galvanise all of the agencies to redouble our efforts to find a buyer for this plant.

“Inverclyde’s manufacturing sector has contributed for years to the Scottish economy through shipbuilding and electronics.

“It is right that all agencies work hard to make sure that we make every effort to find a buyer and that we find a way of mitigating the effect to the Inverclyde and the Scottish economy of this closure.”

The Scottish Government is part of the taskforce and says it is doing everything it can to help avoid disaster.

Paul Wheelhouse, business minister, said: “The scale of employment impact presented at the meeting makes clear the importance for both Inverclyde and Scotland of working together to find a buyer for the plant.

“It is encouraging that there are a number of potential buyers of the plant, however, it must be an incredibly anxious time for the workforce and the local community, and the Scottish Government and its agencies will do all they can to support them and the wider work of the taskforce.”