Almost 200 jobs at an engineering firm have been axed a week early as part of its Scottish factory is shut down.

The Mahle Group will close the finishing unit at their plant in Kilmarnock with 170 of the almost 400 permanent employees placed on gardening leave from lunchtime on Friday. A further 42 agency staff have lost their jobs.

STV News reported in November that staff at the site in the industrial estate at Riccarton were informed by tannoy announcement then went to a meeting which was attended by the group's chairman and business unit manager Matt Langbein.

The Kilmarnock base deals with high specification automotive parts including bearings and engine systems.

Unite the union convener, Ian Dorrans, told STV News: "The consultation process was rushed through. This has come a week earlier than we were originally told.

"It came as a total shock. They didn't even have the courtesy meet with us as a group. I came home last night to a letter informing me and thanking me for my years of service.

"It has left a really bad taste in the mouth among the workforce. They have treated us like dirt on their shoe."

A statement from the company in November said: "Due to the continued difficult market environment and associated overcapacity in the area of bearings production in Europe, the MAHLE Group proposes a consolidation of its European bearings plants.

"As a consequence it is proposed a part of the bearings production, the Finishing Unit at MAHLE Engine Systems UK Ltd in Kilmarnock, will be closed by the end of January 2016.

"In the future Kilmarnock will focus on the production of materials and racing components.

"The main reason behind the proposal is the sustained weak market situation for bearings products resulting in continued overcapacity across MAHLE Group’s European bearings plants.

"Despite all the improvement measures taken in recent years, the economic situation has not improved.

"As it is predicted demand for bearings in Europe will not increase significantly in the coming years, the proposal is to focus production in other existing European bearings plants.

"The proposed closure of the Finishing Unit affects 170 of the 400 employees currently located at Kilmarnock as well as a number of agency staff.

"Matthias Langbein, Director Bearings Europe, stated he deeply regrets the effect this proposal may have on employees and their families and the community at large.

"However, the current status is not sustainable. The company will now enter into a period of collective consultation with its trade union concerning the proposal."

Members of the Unite union met after the announcement was made with regional manager Jim Winter calling the job losses a "devastating development".

He added: "We have been told by management over the last eighteen months that the future of the site’s various operations were not under threat.

"Today we have been providing support for our members and will continue to do so over the coming days.

"We demand an immediate meeting with Mahle’s directors to establish why this has happened despite their previous denials.

"Once again we are in a situation where British workers are told without any meaningful consultation they are out of a job, thanks in no small part to our abject employment laws.

"We cannot go on like this."