A manufacturing firm in Waterford is to close a factory which has been in business for 58 years with the loss of almost 180 jobs.
ABB, which makes components for power supply, will shut down its long-standing Waterford facility by the end of March next year.
In a statement the firm blamed falling business and poor future prospects.
“The closure is as a result of significantly lower orders and lack of potential business in the markets served by this unit, making it unviable,” ABB said.
The company has now begun talks with unions and employees over redundancy. It will continue operations in Dundalk, Cork, Dublin and Lisburn, Co Antrim.
ABB's manufacturing unit in Waterford manufactures distribution transformers for the construction and utility markets in Ireland and the UK. The factory has been in operation since 1951, and in 1992 joined the ABB group of companies, which operates in around 100 countries and employs more than 110,000 people.
The company currently employs about 400 people in Ireland.
Siptu, which represents 114 of the workers at the Waterford plant, is to meet management tomorrow morning.
"Obviously we will be seeking to salvage as many jobs as we can and explore the possibility of other employment options," said SIPTU Organiser Ger Malone.
"The average age of the workforce is 35 so that there are a lot of young families working here with children and high mortgages. We will therefore be seeking the best redundancy terms possible for everyone losing their job."
The remainder of the workers are represented by Unite and the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union. Ms Malone said she would meet with union representatives to discuss a joint strategy.
Regional officer for union Unite Walter Cullen said they would be trying to secure the best terms possible for workers, and called for the immediate introduction of a stimulus programme to save and create jobs.
"The people of Waterford have been hammered with bad news since the start of the year. The loss of Waterford Crystal and so many more jobs, including these now at ABB exact a terrible toll on those involved, their families and the whole city and region. With over 13,000 people unemployed now in the City we are on the point of meltdown," he said.
"There are options for government other than to accelerate the spiral of decline through cutting expenditure, raising taxes, and forcing more people onto the dole. The price we pay for that approach is too high in financial and human terms."
Fine Gael Waterford senator Paudie Coffey said ABB Ireland's decision to close its Waterford plant was a "devastating blow" to the region, which would impact on local contractors and services in the area, who depended heavily on ABB for business.
"Never has there been a worse time to be unemployed and the families who are faced with this dreadful news will undoubtedly be extremely fearful for their futures. Waterford has repeatedly felt the effects of the recession with Live Register figures from April to May of this year alone registering an increase of 521 people or an average of 17 people per day," he said.
Mr Coffey accused the Government of standing "idly by", despite proposals from his party that could create jobs.
"People are well aware that the obliteration of our workforce and the annihilation of our economy is not the result of international market forces but in fact, as the IMF stated only yesterday, is the result of failed domestic policy. It is time for Fianna Fáil to step aside and make way for a Fine Gael Government which has the policies, drive and know how to get the country back on track," he said.
Labour TD for Waterford Brian O'Shea said the Government was in denial at the current extent of the unemployment problem, and called for initiatives to be put in place to stop continuing job losses.
"On a day when the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey shows a decrease of almost 160,000 in the numbers at work, and when the IMF is forecasting that unemployment will climb to 15.5 per cent next year, it is clear that that a far more pro-active approach is now required from the government in regard to job creation and job retention," he said.
"Nowhere is that more critical than in Waterford, where job losses at companies like Waterford Crystal and at Bausch and Lombe are already biting hard at a local level. Every effort should be made to keep all of the workers in employment, and a programme of upskilling must also get under way."
He called on the Government to upgrade Waterford Institute of Technology to university status to allow the region to attract investment that would create jobs, the temporary nationalisation of banks to increase the flow of credit, more training for workers and tax breaks for employers to take on extra staff.