The Telegraph & Argus celebrates it 150th anniversary this year and in honour of the occasion we are printing a story from our archives every day for 150 days.

Today we look at the Telegraph & Argus Saturday, July 24, 1982: On the night of the works annual dance, five hundred Bradford workers from the American-owned International Harvester in Idle, were told that they would lose their jobs as the tractor component factory confirmed it would close its doors on October 22.

With plans made and a venue booked the party continued, a little slow at first, but as the pubs closed, members of staff started to trickle into the venue, determined to try and make it a happy occasion, reserving their anger for their American bosses.

The company’s demise was apparently due to management stretching the truth about the state of the tractor market. Since 1979 Harvester’s total UK operations had shrunk from employing 6,000 to 2,000.

Harvester's announcement to close had made it 'black Friday' for the Idle area as the Rank Wharfedale Loudspeaker factory in Highfield Road also closed with a loss of more than 350 jobs.