MOTOROLA’s future in Swindon hangs in the balance after the company admitted it is pulling out of its North Swindon base.

The firm has committed to retaining a presence in the town but refused to comment on whether its full compliment about 500 workers would remain after the move.

Cirencester-based pharmaceutical firm Vygon UK Limited – which employs about 100 people – has submitted a planning application to take over the iconic £82 million building in Thamesdown Drive.

The deal is expected to be completed by spring 2010 but Motorola has yet to identify a replacement site in Swindon. The company now employs around 500 people – down from 1,800 when the factory opened in 1998.

A spokeswoman for Motorola said: “The current Swindon site has more capacity than the workforce requires. There is a search for alternative sites elsewhere.

“We are still committed to Swindon.”

Bill Cotton, director of economic development at Swindon Council, said he was working hard to ensure the communications giant remained one of Swindon big five companies.

He said: “I’m very confident they are remaining in the town.

“They are currently looking at sites in Swindon and we have put a lot of pressure on them to commit to staying here.

“They have got lots of very compelling reasons to stay. They have over 500 specialised staff that they want to retain, they have a licence to operate in Swindon and they have good links to the town.”

Mr Cotton said he hoped there would be no need for redundancies but admitted that no guarantees could be given. He said: “As a big mobile organisation Motorola is constantly restructuring and looking to find ways of being more efficient.”

Vygon’s staff will initially commute from Cirencester but, according to president of the Swindon Chamber of Commerce Kevin Copp, the move will still be good for the economy.

“We are still talking about people shopping in Swindon and contributing to the business community,” he said.

“I would hope that if things go well those workers would eventually think of moving to Swindon.

“If a major business such as Motorola has to move then we have to make sure we do everything to facilitate that and ensure they remain in the town in some form.”

Rikki Hunt, chairman of Swindon Strategic Economic Partnership, agreed that keeping the company in Swindon was very important. He said: “We obviously want them to stay – not just in terms of employment but also confidence in business in Swindon. Perception is also important because Motorola are a big name.

“I know everyone has worked very hard to keep them in Swindon.”