One of Wearside's longest-established companies today announced it was cutting jobs.
The Edward Thompson Group, which prints promotional and gaming material, has revealed it is offering staff voluntary redundancy in a bid to avoid future compulsory redundancies.
More than 20 positions could go at the Sunderland company as part o
f the move.
Bosses blamed a national downturn in demand for paper bingo and newspaper games for the losses.
The growth of electronic bingo and Internet gaming, along with a change in gaming regulations and the introduction of the smoking ban, compounded its problems.
The business also recently lost a major national newspaper account.
With more than 300 employees at its three sites across the city, the company has yet to confirm the exact number or redundancies.
However, managers said it was "possible" that voluntary redundancy would be accepted from more than 20 members of staff.
Paddy Cronin, managing director, said that other areas of the business continued to perform well and ensured the long-term future of the firm.
Edward Thompson has been based in Sunderland for more than 140 years and is one of the main suppliers to the bingo and gaming industries.
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