Dairygold, the Republic's biggest dairy co-operative, is to make almost 300 people redundant at two of its plants in Cork and Tipperary. It also warned that further job cuts may be necessary if radical restructuring to cut costs is not successful, writes Barry Roche, Southern Correspondent.
The job losses will occur at the pig slaughterhouse and boning plant in Mitchelstown and slaughterhouse in Roscrea. The company said the move was part of an ongoing rationalisation programme aimed at returning it to profit.
Some 170 jobs will be lost at Mitchelstown when the plant closes at the end of October, and 100 jobs will go in Roscrea when the slaughterhouse closes next month.
Although speculation had been mounting about Mitchelstown, there was considerable shock and anger at the announcement of the Roscrea closure.
The closures are expected to save the company around €10 million a year.
Dairygold chief executive Mr Jerry Henchy said the move away from primary pig processing was aimed at safeguarding the remaining 585 jobs in its consumer foods division.
This section will prepare bought-in pigmeat and will continue to produce dairy and cheese products.
Workers at the pigmeat processing factory in Roscrea reacted angrily to news of the closure, which they said was unforeseen.
"We are devastated with the way it was said to us, it just came out of the blue," said one.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Ms Harney, who is abroad, issued a statement last night expressing regret over the job losses in both towns.
Ms Harney said she had asked the Government development agencies to provide every assistance, including retraining for those affected.
Ms Harney, who conceded that investment decisions were ultimately matters for individual companies, was urged by both community and employee representatives to work to attract alternative investment to both towns, which had suffered other job losses in recent years. Mitchelstown Community Council chairman, Mr Bill Power, said the town depended hugely on Dairygold.
It had already suffered 500 job losses with an earlier rationalisation at the co-operative late last year. Yesterday's announcement was a further blow to 4,500 people living in the town and the surrounding area, he said.
He added that the local community council met Ms Harney last April but she was unable to give them any hope that new industry would be coming to the town.
SIPTU general secretary Mr Joe O'Flynn also expressed concern for the future of the workforce in the towns and said both had suffered serious job losses in the past with rationalisation at Dairygold in Mitchelstown and with the loss of 280 jobs at Antigen in Roscrea in 2002.