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One employee said: "Everybody is in shock. They are phasing it down almost immediately."

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He said sales to pubs had been in decline, but the year had seen an increase in "small pack" canned and bottled sales by 18 per cent.

"They have invested £24m in total just in small packaging alone. We had a meeting with the European director and somebody asked him where sales of small packs would be sourced and he said 'Europe.'"

Carlsberg has packaging operations across Europe, including Poland.

Closure a shock says Leeds Chamber of Commerce president: Click here for full interview.

Closure a 'sad day' for Leeds says council leader: Click here for full story.

Most of the brewery workers are members of the general union GMB.

Full-time official Steve Huckerby said: "People are devastated.

"The company has invested £23m in the last couple of years in the canning and bottling plant and people thought there was security of employment on the site. Now they have turned it on its head.

"What they are basically saying to us is that the brewery at Northampton can double the capacity of Leeds. There has been a fall-off in trade to pubs but an 18 per cent increase in canning and bottling. They have put them on 24 hour production seven days a week three months ago and they are negotiating to continue that. The managers were looking to take people on in those areas."

But he said production of Tetley's cask and keg beers was being reduced from two shifts a day to one.

He also said that the famous "Yorkshire Squares" brewing vessels on the site were taken out of use a year ago.

"The squares are just left there," he said.

"We are going through the process with them. Consultations start next Wednesday. They will have to justify this decision, the reasons for doing this. But it looks like it is just on a cost basis with concentration of production at Northampton and abroad."

One feature of beer production at Hunslet is that Tetley's uses water from its own borehole, which is part of its tradition. That too will end.