Hot Animation , which makes the popular children's TV programme, has warned staff that the studio could close later this year with the loss of all 67 jobs.
Letters spelling out potential job cuts and a period of consultation have been sent to all employees.
Concerned workers at the company have told the M.E.N. of their fears that they are being kept in the dark about future plans to avoid disruption to work on the latest series of Bob The Builder.
One source said there was nothing scheduled to be produced by Hot Animation after September, and voiced concerns that work might be outsourced by Hot Animation's parent company to cheaper overseas producers.
"We feel very upset that we have helped this company to make an awful lot of money and now face the prospect of losing our jobs," said one employee.
Hot is part of the Hit Entertainment group acquired by private equity firm Apax Partners in 2005.
It is one of the country's most successful creators of stop-frame - or puppet-based - animation.
In Altrincham, it has benefited from a skill centre which has grown up around the Granada-owned Cosgrove Hall Films company, which is based in nearby Chorlton.
The success of Hot Animation and CHF in Manchester has also provided work for a number of allied independent businesses engaged in the construction of puppets and costumes for the sector.
The only other significant producer of stop-frame animation in the UK is Bristol-based Aardman, producer of the Wallace and Gromit cartoons.
This news comes at time when children's television production in the UK is in turmoil, in part due to a ban on junk food advertising and a decision by the commercial broadcasters to produce a more lucrative programming schedule.
Hot Entertainment is understood to be running ahead of schedule with its contract to deliver the next series of Bob The Builder and is committed to producing a further series of popular in 2008.
A spokesman for parent company Hit Entertainment would not comment on the likelihood of Bob The Builder being outsourced to a cheaper studio overseas, but confirmed that a complete closure of the Hot Animation facility had been suggested as a "worst case scenario".
"We are working to restructure the Hot Animation studio to allow it to continue to operate in the challenging and highly competitive marketplace that is children's entertainment," she added.
"We will continue with a period of consultation of staff and regrettably as part of this process redundancies may occur."
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ace, manchester (19/07/2007 at 09:46)
ace, manchester (19/07/2007 at 15:34)
The Catcher, In the Rye (19/07/2007 at 15:49)
ace, manchester (19/07/2007 at 16:04)
The problem .we have to many people "voters" who have been totally brainwashed into beleiving the EU club is our saviour? We spend billions each year financing other EU countrys to dismantle out industry and country. and we get people saying that europe has saved britain..We fought wars to give people a home and jobs,Neither has been acheived since we joined the club.the next move will be royal mail....
Alex (20/07/2007 at 01:06)
I am European and my opinion about EU and UK is that the British people in general are low qualified and speak only English. So many foreigners get these jobs. In other cases are lazy, leaving another layer for the foreigners with less qualification. If you go to Canarias in Spain, or Algarve, Portugal for example, you will find neighborhoods and establishments where people don't speak the local language, only English. I think that British people should worry about the ones from Asia and Mid East who are not from EU, have much less beneficial relationship with the UK than the EU and come here.
The Catcher, In the Rye (20/07/2007 at 08:20)
ace, manchester (20/07/2007 at 13:58)