A member of the tribal faction that supports ousted Penobscot Gov. Francis Mitchell lashed out Thursday against a Hong Kong company’s investment in Olamon Industries, a manufacturing company owned by the tribe.

Earlier this week, the Penobscots announced that Swire Pacific Holdings Inc. would lend money to Olamon and distribute audio cassette tapes made at the Indian Island factory. The exact terms of the agreement were not revealed.

“This is only going to prolong the inevitable closing of Olamon Industries,” said Carl Mitchell, nephew of the former governor. “Olamon is going to go under, unless the tribe continues to subsidize it.”

Penobscot Gov. James Sappier, the man who defeated Mitchell, could not be reached for comment Friday. But the tribe previously said the deal was expected to boost employment at Olamon from 70 people to about 150 workers by the end of summer.

Employment at the factory has fallen steadily during the past two years, as Olamon was rocked by tribal in-fighting, a downturn in the cassette market and a dispute with Shape Inc., the Biddeford company that helped to start Olamon.

To resolve the dispute, Olamon recently gave up its license to manufacture a patented premium cassette developed by Shape.

“Olamon will now be making generic cassettes that generate a generic price,” said Mitchell. He claimed the factory would never be able to sell enough cassettes to pay off its existing debts.

“Olamon is a very, very small player in the market,” he said. “Swire itself has production facilities in Hong Kong and the Philippines that are able to make 220 million cassettes a year.”

Mitchell claimed Swire’s real interest in the Penobscots had little to do with making cassettes.

“Why would a company with $30 billion in annual sales be fooling around with a rinky-dink outfit like Olamon?” he asked. “Perhaps they like the looks of our land, or the (Penobscot) nation’s free-trade zone capability. Maybe they are looking at the size of the buildings, and not necessarily what’s in them. … I can only speculate what is the real intent of the Swire Group.”