Some 142 jobs are to be lost at medical devices firm Stryker in Cork.
Minister of State for Research and Innovation Séan Sherlock said the announcement was very bad news for the Carrigtwohill and surrounding areas.
He said the priority was to get those people back into the workplace and welcomed the fact the company would retain “a significant presence in the area”.
“I am assured that the company will be making every effort to support employees including identifying other opportunities within the organisation, offering a redundancy package as well as assistance in the form of training and re-skilling,” the Minister said.
He welcomed the company’s plans for 60 new jobs in the development and production of new endoscopy products over the next four years.
“I hope that workers who are to let go in the near future will be reinstated at that stage.”
Mr Sherlock said measures announced by the Government under its jobs initiative last week represented “a significant first step in tackling the joblessness crisis that has wreaked havoc on our economy for the last three years”.