THE Milky Bar kid is coming to York bringing 100 jobs with him.

Nestl is proposing to switch production of its white chocolate products to York from a factory in Hayes, Middlesex.

While that will mean the loss of 159 jobs in Hayes, it will also lead to the York factory taking on an extra 100 employees.

The news comes only 22 days after Nestl shocked York workers by proposing to make 220 people redundant.

Asked if workers facing redundancy would be able to transfer to the new jobs, a spokeswoman said those being shed were managerial and technical support, while the Milky Bar jobs would be in production, involving a completely different set of skills. She did not imagine that many would want to make such a transfer.

Updated: 10:49 Friday, September 12, 2003