PLANS to axe more than 300 jobs at Co Antrim bike retailer Chain Reaction Cycles have been branded "outrageous" by a trade union.
The posts, both permanent and agency positions, are expected to go at the company's facilities at Ballyclare, Doagh and Carrickfergus next summer.
Chain Reaction Cycles was bought earlier this year by British rival Wiggle in a £73m deal.
The newly-formed firm WiggleCRC has decided to concentrate warehouse facilities in Wolverhampton.
Davy Thompson from the Unite union said the proposal was "outrageous" and was "a clear case of corporate asset-stripping".
"Wiggle acquired its competitor, the successful Northern Ireland distribution and retail business Chain Reaction Cycles, in February of this year and by October wants to close most of its Northern Ireland operations," he said.
WiggleCRC said the consultation said the relocation of some operations to England was a "necessary step".
"As part of this proposal, bikes and frames, including bike assembly handling activities and our wheel build operation would remain in Ballyclare," it said in a statement.
The redundancies would leave around 275 permanent workers at Chain Reaction's facilities in the north.
Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken said the plan was "massively disappointing".
"I am shocked at the numbers of workers who will be affected, not least because the story of Chain Reaction Cycles has, up to now, been one of continual expansion and success," he said.
Chain Reaction started as a small family-run shop in 1984 before growing into the world's largest online bike shop over the three decades that followed.
