Lotus, the maker of iconic sports cars, yesterday added to the gloom surrounding Britain's manufacturing sector by cutting 275 jobs at Hethel in Norfolk, 15% of its workers.

The company founded by Colin Chapman has seen demand drop for its Elise and Esprit models and plans to cut back staff over the next couple of months. The move brought immediate demands from union leaders that the Bank of England cut interest rates when its monetary policy committee meets today.

Unions are still incensed by an announcement this week by James Dyson that he is moving production of his vacuum cleaners to the Far East with the loss of 800 jobs at head office in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

Lotus said overseas bases in Atlanta, Detroit and Kuala Lumpur would be unaffected but output in Norfolk had fallen from 5,500 to 5,000, though there is still a waiting list for the cars which cost up to £50,000 each. Lotus has spent £6m increasing capacity to produce 6,000 vehicles a year.

Roger Lyons, general secretary of the Amicus union, said 200,000 jobs could be lost from manufacturing this year unless action was taken to reduce sterling's value.