At least 40 jobs are facing the axe at a Bilston factory which has been supplying the building trade for more than 75 years.

Mueller Europe, based in Oxford Street, is set to make 30 shop-floor workers and 10 others redundant as the credit crunch hits the housing market. But bosses today stayed tight-lipped about the job losses.

Spokesman Graham Paskett said: “We have only recently started the consultation process and it is inappropriate to make any further comment at the moment as some of the employees affected by the reorganisation are not yet aware of the situation.”

Mueller Europe is the leading UK manufacturer of copper tube, and its Bilston plant is regarded as the most modern and environmentally efficient of its type in Europe.

The firm was previously called Wednesbury Tube and claims to be one of the most consistent and economic manufacturers of copper tube in the world. The Bilston factory takes the production of copper tube from molten material to finished product at the one site. It is sold to builders’ merchants for plumbing and heating.

The slowdown in the housing market has hit companies throughout the region.

Wolverhampton-based Persimmon Homes announced it will be axing jobs, and housebuilder Taylor Wimpey saw the value of its shares halved. Barratt Homes is also believed to be axing 50 staff in the region.