Some 78 jobs are to be lost after two Galway companies issued statements last night confirming their closure.
Connolly Sports, based in Claregalway, is to cease operations from December 19th, with the loss of 38 jobs.
T O'Higgins Manufacturing Ltd, of Shantalla, is to close its furniture plant in the new year, with the loss of 40 jobs. However, the builders' providers outlet will not be affected.
Connolly Sports says that the family-run company has been forced to close due to a downturn in the tourist and corporate leisurewear markets. The company has been in business since the early 1980s. It is understood that the workers are not members of any union. Meanwhile, T O'Higgins Manufacturing informed its 40 staff yesterday that it would be ceasing to trade. T O'Higgins has been manufacturing furniture and joinery products since the late 1930s, mainly for schools and colleges.
The Shantalla company said that it had become impossible to continue in business because of the importation of cheap low-specification furniture from outside the EU. The majority of its 40 workers are members of SIPTU.