Daewoo bosses came under fire today as they announced profits just months after shedding hundreds of jobs in Sussex.

Bosses of the company in Korea announced an operating profit of £3.6 million for April.

Daewoo said it represented the first profit for almost three years and had been achieved by "restructuring" of the company in Korea which has resulted in savings.

The company, which has a technical centre in Worthing, once employed 750 staff in the town but after several rounds of redundancies has just 160 workers.

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton said today: "I am sure the workers will not take kindly to these profits at the expense of the jobs that have been lost there.

"These profits are a drop in the ocean when you consider how much debt they are in, which is 60 billion dollars."

The car firm sold its research and development centre to a Formula One racing team in April. It is thought Tom Walkinshaw Racing bought the centre for around £4.5 million.

A spokesman for Daewoo said: "Continued restructuring will enable Daewoo Motor to operate independently of support from its creditors after June. "

A worker at the Worthing plant, who did not want to be identified, said: "This is just not on. There has been such a lack of respect shown to the workers, it is incredible.

"Now they are pleased to be announcing profits for the first time in however many years but what about us, we are forgotten."

Workers were incensed last month when they learned the firm was planning to fund a general election candidate, a move Mr Loughton branded an "insult".

The money used to field a candidate could have paid the salaries of up to two engineers.