More jobs could be on the line at Royal London Insurance in Colchester, it has been revealed.

A major announcement is expected next month about the number of employees and amount of property owned by the firm.

Last month 300 employees - about a quarter of Royal London's 1,200 Colchester workforce - were made redundant as part of the insurance giants' takeover of United Assurance.

Tim Young, spokesman for the Middleborough-based firm, said: "The situation is currently being reviewed and another major announcement will be made in July.

"A decision is going to be made on both the number of staff and amount of property owned by the company and it could be that there are more redundancies.

"However, both of these decisions are very much in the lap of the directors."

A total of 216 permanent positions and 92 temporary posts are already being axed in the next few months, mainly from the customer service department and some from printing and stationery.

Consumer services are being transferred to the former United Assurance head office in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

Grenville Krinks, branch chairman of the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSFU), said: "If there is any truth in the rumours then it will certainly leave a big hole in Colchester.

"The signs are not looking good and, to be honest, we're bracing ourselves for the worst case scenario."

Colchester councillor Terry Sutton, in charge of employment and economic issues, added: "If they're going to be making more redundancies it certainly makes you wonder how committed they are to Colchester."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.