More than 200 jobs are expected to be lost at manufacturing plants in Carlow and Cork. German engineering company, Läpple announced yesterday that it is to close its Carlow factory after 33 years with the loss of 140 jobs. Michael Parsonsin Carlow and Olivia Kelleherin Cork

In a written statement, the company said it had incurred heavy losses in recent years and blamed "the increasing competitive and cost pressures that are affecting Ireland's manufacturing sector".

Workers were told the news at a meeting yesterday morning and negotiations with union representatives on redundancy terms began immediately.

Journalists who went to the plant were ordered to leave the visitors' car park by uniformed security guards and told to contact a public relations firm in Dublin. A spokesman there said that no member of Läpple management was available to talk to the media.

Siptu branch organiser Mick Browne said he expected the closure to happen in September and described the news as "disastrous for Carlow".

He said: "These workers are highly skilled and the jobs are irreplaceable."

Läpple Ireland was founded in 1974 as a subsidiary of August Läpple, a family-owned German company that employs about 4,000 people worldwide and manufactures components for leading car manufacturers in Europe, Asia and the United States.

At its peak in 1992, the Carlow factory employed 325 people but that number had been declining as the company struggled with rising costs. Last August, 85 jobs were lost in a redundancy programme.

Meanwhile, Cork suffered a major jobs blow yesterday with the announcement that the US electronic components manufacturer, Molex, plans to close its plant in Millstreet with the loss of 80 jobs.

Staff were told of the company's decision to shut the plant shortly before lunchtime yesterday. Anxious workers met management at 11am and left the meeting two hours later having been told their jobs were gone.

The company confirmed to staff that it planned to consolidate all Irish manufacturing at its plant at Shannon, Co Clare.

The company is now entering a consultation phase with the employees, which will last for one month. A company spokesman said until the review period was completed no further comment or information would be provided.

A member of staff, who declined to be named said yesterday that the total shutdown of the plant would occur on a phased basis over the next six to nine months.

"It is a bit of a shock. We have had signs over the last few months but it is still out of the blue in some ways. The jobs will go bit by bit over the next six to nine months. There are no jobs down here so we don't know what we will do. It is not a place where there are many opportunities."

Molex has been operating in Millstreet since 1985 and in Shannon since 1971.

It has plants in more than 40 countries worldwide.