The Government was accused yesterday of neglecting the south-east after Celtic Linen announced it is to close its Carlow plant with the loss of 80 jobs.
The closure is the second jobs blow to hit the town in recent months, with the local Irish Sugar factory due to close next week. It employs 140.
Celtic Linen said the closure was part of a major investment plan which would see it consolidate operations at its site in Drinagh, Wexford.
It had recently acquired land adjacent to the site and planned to build a new premises there for a state of the art linen processing facility.
This facility would operate alongside the company's existing two modern plants on the Drinagh site, it said.
"New office accommodation to centralise finance, administration, sales and management functions will also be built on the site," it said.
Production and administration staff at the company's plant at Maudlintown, Wexford, would transfer to the new facility in October, while the 40-year-old Carlow plant would close.
While the company plans to open a depot in Carlow, the existing 80 jobs in administration, production and maintenance will be lost.
South East Regional Authority chairman John Brennan, a Fine Gael councillor, said the closure was "terrible news" for Carlow and a "devastating blow to the local and regional economy".
He said the region had not yet come to terms with job losses such as those at Irish Sugar in Carlow, 150 at Pall Ireland in Tipperary, more than 300 at Wexford Electronix, 225 at Braun Ireland in Carlow, and 70 at Tex Tech Industries and 160 at Comerama Textile Mills, both in Kilkenny.
Unemployment in the south-east was worsening and was now the highest of any Irish region, he said.
Siptu Carlow branch secretary Michael Browne said the workforce at Celtic Linen, which was predominantly female, was shocked at the decision.
The union would be seeking justification for it at a meeting with the company on Monday. If the closure went ahead, generous severance terms would be sought.
Celtic Linen said it would continue to employ more than 400 staff in the south-east and at depots in Carlow, Cork and Dublin.
The company services about 4,000 clients, most in the hospitality, healthcare and commercial sectors.
