Disabled workers at Remploy factories slated for closure will receive subsidies of up to£50m over the next five years to take potentiallylower-paying jobs in the private sector.

The sum will be paid to as many as 2,200 employees at factories across the country as part of a £555m overhaul of Remploy's activities. The restructuring will involve the closure of loss-making facilities, and quadrupling the number of disabled workers the group helps into paid employment from 5,000 a year to 20,000.