MANAGEMENT at the doomed Viasystems plant in the Borders yesterday denied the factories had closed, despite telling staff not to bother showing up for work.

Almost 500 workers have been told to stay at home on full pay because they have already met production targets set for them to qualify for enhanced redundancy payments.

Night shift workers at the Galashiels factory were under the impression that they were finished for good after being sent home immediately and told not to come back unless they were contacted.

Staff reporting at Selkirk and Galashiels yesterday were told to hand in tools and coats for security reasons and then to leave the buildings.

But Viasystems personnel manager Stewart Bell said the bulk of the workforce set to lose their jobs will be called back next week before being given the inevitable news that they are no longer required. He explained that the company was still sticking to

January 1 for the majority of the redundancies and next June for the remainder of the workforce.

Mr Bell said: ''Over the past few weeks we have asked everyone to report every day before sending them home.

''Now in the run-up to Christmas, instead of reporting every day, we have told them to stay at home and we will get in touch if required, although that is unlikely.

''They will be called in to be told face to face when they are actually being made redundant, probably the week starting December 21.''

In a new development Viasystems has confirmed that the Galashiels facility will also stay open until next summer, albeit with a skeleton staff, because of specialised work carried out there.

It was due to close at Christmas but in a stay of execution the company is retaining between 30 and 40 staff in two departments to print ink and put plate copper on circuit boards.

This avoids shipping in these processes to its new facility at Tyneside which is taking over work from the Galashiels and Selkirk factories.

A total of 920 workers will be made redundant when Viasystems pulls out of the Borders.

About 140 employees have already found new jobs and 300 are being kept on at Selkirk and Galashiels until June to assist with the shutdown process. But almost 500 workers will be out of a job at Christmas in an area already depressed because of large scale redundancies in the textile trade.

Transport & General Workers Union senior shop steward at Viasystems Graeme McIver said: ''It is incredibly sad after all the weeks and months of fighting.

''It is just starting to hit home to people that a fortnight before Christmas they will be out of a job.''