Talks were due to be held today between unions and management at a Northern Ireland electronics company following the announcement that more than 200 jobs are to go.
South Korean-owned Daewoo Electronics told staff yesterday that it was shedding 205 jobs at its television and DVD factory in Antrim.
The company is seeking voluntary redundancies from a workforce which will be slashed to just 80. It has been in Antrim for 17 years and was once the second largest manufacturer of video recorders in Europe with more than 1,000 employed in Northern Ireland.
Business has been hit by fierce competition from cheaper imports from China and Turkey.
Alliance Party leader and South Antrim Assembly member David Ford said the redundancies were a severe blow to the area and a warning to Northern Ireland that jobs cannot be taken for granted. He said it was up to those with influence to try to ensure jobs went to the town to suit the skills of those being put out of work.
"With record high levels of employment and record low levels of unemployment, Northern Ireland is in a strong economic position in some way, but this is a warning that we cannot take jobs for granted," Mr Ford said.