Image caption The Hoover factory stopped production in Merthyr Tydfil in 2009

About 45 jobs are at risk at Hoover Candy's head office in Merthyr Tydfil.

Hoover's parent company Haier Electronics is looking to centralise parts of it operations in Warrington by spring 2020.

The Chinese company said it has begun a consultation process with those employees at risk of redundancy and their representatives.

A distribution centre, which employs about 60 staff, is set to remain at the south Wales site.

A Hoover spokesman said: "As part of the company's wish to centralise some functions and support our long-term expansion plans, some jobs may move to our new offices in Warrington, over the next year.

"Hoover Candy's Merthyr Tydfil site continues to serve as the main operation for logistics and warehousing, with a number of other functions planned to remain based at Merthyr Tydfil."

The company said it was investing £2m renovating a warehouse at the Pentrebach site which remained a "key role" in the company's history and future.

The announcement comes after Merthyr MP Gerald Jones and AM Dawn Bowden met with company representatives, when they discussed the proposals to relocate jobs.

Image caption The factory was a "key employer" in the area for more than six decades

Hoover has been in Merthyr since the 1940s and its washing machine factory at the site was one of the most high-profile industrial facilities in south Wales.

But the site has been the subject of speculation for over a decade, since manufacturing came to an end in 2009 with the loss of 337 jobs.

The Welsh Government previously said it wanted to buy the site as part of plans for a South Wales Metro rail network.