Up to 170 jobs are going at one of Bradford's biggest employers.

Hallmark Cards will be holding a 90-day period of consultation with employees to determine which jobs will be scrapped over a 12-month period and how the changes will be made. But alongside this 50 new posts will be created.

A company spokesman said it would be impossible to say which jobs will be under threat and what the new posts will involve until the consultation period was over.

Ian Stuart, president of Hallmark International, said: "Hallmark remains committed to Bradford and will still employ more than 2,000 employees in the city."

The firm also announced plans to invest several million pounds in its Bradford bases over the next two years.

Changes include bringing the production of Tigerprint - a division of the company's production - to the Brighouse facility instead of employing an outside company to make the products. This will create jobs at Brighouse.

A new automatic manufacturing and packing system will also be installed at the Brighouse site, moving the warehouse and distribution from the Cottingley base.

Mr Stuart said: "The changes will strengthen our ability to operate successfully in the United Kingdom greeting card market, one that has become increasingly competitive in recent years."

The internet and other companies provide strong competition for the firm.

Mr Stuart said: "We have made Bradford our home and we are absolutely committed.

"There is a very bright future. We have the capability to develop that future.

"Once these changes have been implemented, they will allow us to plan for the future in Bradford and provide a solid foundation for growth."

Hallmark, a subsidiary of the American Hallmark Cards plc, was introduced to the UK in the 1950s. The company settled in Bradford in the 1980s, and has bases on Dawson Lane in Bierley, a facility in Brighouse and a site at Bingley Road in Cottingley.

The firm is the largest greetings card and publishing company in the UK. Around 3,500 people are employed by Hallmark in this country, the majority in Bradford.