Bosses are being offered advice on how to tackle a crisis in the West Sussex manufacturing industry.

Burgess Hill-based Sussex Enterprise has revealed the number of manufacturing companies in the county has dropped by six per cent since 1996.

Some 697 manufacturing jobs were lost between 1998 and 2001.

The organisation is starting a Learning by Doing course in April, to show the manufacturing industry how to cut costs and improve performance.

David Ripley, head of business development, predicted employment levels would fall by 0.3 per cent this year.

He said: "Overhead costs are high in Sussex. The programme will provide practical ways of improving performance."

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