The beleaguered Harris Tweed industry has suffered another blow with the loss of a further 11 jobs.

The posts are going at the Kenneth Mackenzie mill, where the 15 remaining workers are being offered redundancy.

A year ago the mill was one of Stornoway's biggest employers, with around 100 staff. Now that workforce has been reduced to 15.

Yorkshire businessman Brian Haggas bought the mill in 2006 amid claims he would safeguard the future of Harris Tweed. But weavers accuse him of slashing production and focusing on just one niche market.

Alasdair Morrison, a former mill worker, was one to voice criticism. He said: “I don’t think it will go on much longer. I think you’ll see him closing the place altogether – and it’s a disgrace after promising weavers that they would get work all the year round.

“He’s run down the industry altogether as far as I can see. He’s been in machinery, but what’s the use of machinery when you can’t get work?”

Most of the 100 self-employed weavers who work from loom sheds at their homes around Lewis and Harris depend on the mill for their livelihoods. The firm has said in the past that cuts were necessary if the industry is to survive.

Council bosses are seeking urgent talks with Mr Haggas. Councillor Angus Campbell from Western Isles Council said: “I will be contacting Mr Haggas and asking him to rethink his strategy but it is his right what he does.

“But it is apparent when you get a large mill, that was the biggest mill in the Western Isles, working with numbers in their teens that things are not working out for them, particularly for the workers.”

In the meantime, the remaining 15 employees at the mill are being offered voluntary redundancy. Workers are bitter and say the future of the industry is bleak.

This latest blow has re-ignited fears that the future of the Harris Tweed is hanging by a thread.