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Remploy, the government-owned manufacturing firm for disabled workers, has confirmed plans to close a number of its UK factories.

Union leaders have blasted plans to close 17 sites and merge 11 others, claiming that the proposals will lead to the loss of over 2,000 jobs for disabled staff.

But Remploy, founded in 1945, has stressed that it is planning to close 15 fewer factories than originally intended.

The company, which provides various employment services for disabled people, announced proposals to close some of its factories in May as part of plans to reduce its management and overhead costs by £49 million over a five-year period.

In revised proposals sent to work and pensions secretary Peter Hain today, the company revealed its intention to retain some of the plants originally marked for closure and said it had identified changes in working practices which would result in total cost savings of £59 million over five years.

Remploy also emphasised that the long-term future of the factories which it is now planning to keep open will depend on changes being made to working practices at a local level and increases in public and private sector sales.

"We have today submitted a final proposal for consideration by the secretary of state which includes these savings, an assumption of significantly more public procurement contracts and a programme of voluntary redundancy," said Remploy chief executive Bob Warner.

The company added that no factory closures would take place without the government's consent.

But, responding to the announcement, the GMB union accused Remploy of ignoring a commitment made by the government during the recent Labour party conference, during which ministers agreed to secure the future of the Remploy factories by using public procurement processes to generate work for the plants.

Commenting on the company's plans GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said: "The picture that emerges with these proposals is that of senior people ingrained in the school of management incompetence, beset by rigidity, completely lacking in vision and only begrudgingly being prepared to tackle the waste of money and excessive overheads that is dragging Remploy into losses."