A HIGH-tech company based in Malvern has said that it is asking for voluntary redundancies from its staff.

Malvern Instruments employs 214 people here and another 400 across the world.

A spokesman for the firm, based in Grovewood Road, said the move was a response to the current economic situation.

No decision will be made about how many people are to go until the voluntary redundancy consultation process has been completed.

The firm, founded in the late 1960s, is a world leader in the field of making devices for particle size analysis. It has received four Queen's Awards for Enterprise.