Gillette have announced it is to relocate its manufacturing operation away from Isleworth, its historical home, to an undisclosed site in Eastern Europe, ending what will be a 70 year association with the town.

Though staff have been braced for the move for a number of months, it was only after Wall Street was informed of the decision at midday on Thursday that the company could officially declare its decision.

It remains unclear what effect the move would have on the 1,000 or so employees at the site. Around 450 people currently work at the manufacturing plant, which is most likely to relocate to Poland or possibly Russia.

The company is unlikely to make redundancies straight away, according to insiders at the firm, as the Isleworth plant will have to stock pile product ready for the transfer, which wouldn't occur before 2007.

When the manufacturing plant is moved, the accompanying offices - which house a further 600 workers - will also relocate, although according to Gillette headquarters this would be "within the local area".

This would leave a question mark hanging over the premises known as Gillette Corner', a listed facade dubbed the "best of the best" Art Deco architecture in the UK by English Heritage.

Putting the premises on the market could throw the future of the building into doubt, as although listed status protects buildings to a certain degree, it is not a bar to demolition.

Staff were clearly fond of their historic premises, and had even put together a board to try and save the plant, offering amongst other things to work longer hours for less pay just to stay put.

One staff member at the manufacturing plant contacted by the Times said: "The staff have known it was only a matter of time before this happened, even though it was still a shock. This will change many peoples' lives here. Gillette pay very well and we all know that it will be very hard to match that elsewhere. This means a number of people will have to adjust their lifestyle considerably, i.e. will be forced to move house. The one thing I would like to mention is the board that was set up by staff to put a proposal together to help save Isleworth did a tremendous job. The staff here are very dedicated people to Gillette, the turn around in staff proves this.

"The staff were willing to work more hours in a week for the same pay, do 12 hour shifts, take pay cuts and carry out more tasks just to try and save Isleworth.

"But it doesn't matter what we propose here in the UK as it will have no bearing on the US management team's decision, as this is more than just Isleworth that is affected. We are the most efficient Gillette factory and make $100m+ profit a year."

The company has been one of the borough's flagship companies since it moved to the site in 1937, and its loss will be keenly felt by the business community.

Les Robbins, the Chairman of Hounslow's Chamber of Commerce, told the Times: "We are very sad to lose Gillette, as we are losing a very prestigious company from the area. I understand they will leave some of the administration side of things here, but the manufacturing will really be a loss. They have been established in Isleworth for many years so it's a great shame - it's sad to see them go."