ABOUT 680 Yorkshire workers were sacked in a text message when their employer declared itself bust, their union said yesterday.

The workers were employed at a factory in Barnsley by Bradford-based Safestyle UK, which makes double-glazed windows, doors and conservatories.

They received a text message from chief executive Rob Neale on Friday afternoon telling them to go home and saying the firm was going into administration.

The factory gates were locked behind them.

Their union, the GMB, was due to meet bosses yesterday.

GMB organiser Lee Parkinson said: “Safestyle UK workers have been completely let down by mismanagement from the very top of the business.

“More than 600 workers have been cruelly cut off from work weeks before Christmas, with no guarantee that they will even get last week’s pay cheque.

“The impact of this closure upon the community of Barnsley cannot be overstated: it is simply devastating.

“We need urgent answers on where the money has gone. GMB will be on site with our members to demand those answers.”

The firm posted pre-tax losses of £6.7 million in the first half of 2023 but is reported to have £10 million in orders and was still spending thousands of pounds on advertising on Friday.

The text from the chief executive told workers that talks aimed at saving the company had failed and that the board had “therefore concluded that it is no longer able to continue trading as a going concern and has filed notice of intention to appoint administrators.”