IRISH Crown, a Cork based company which manufactures ring caps for cans, is to close next month with the loss of 110 jobs.
The American owned firm said yesterday that demand for the product had dropped and the cost of installing new machinery was prohibitive. It is understood most of the business will go to plants in Italy and South America.
Workers' representatives and the Minister of State for Education, Mr Bernard Allen, in whose constituency the plant is located, will meet management on Monday to discuss the closure plans. Mr Allen has asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Bruton, to intervene.
Mr Eddie Mullins of SIPTU, which represents 90 employees at the company, said they were all shocked at the decision which they learned of yesterday. The union has also been in contact with Mr Bruton and the IDA.
Mr Tony Stout, of Irish Crown, praised the workforce and said the decision to close was due to market developments. Redundancy payments would exceed statutory requirements, he added.
Earlier this year, Irish Crown had to pay more than £1 million to female staff who won a case to be paid the same as their male counterparts.