Workers at Breeo Foods in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, are to meet this evening to discuss ways to prevent the closure of the plant with the loss of 70 jobs.
Earlier this month, Breeo Foods, the consumer foods division of Dairygold's Reox Holdings, announced plans for the closure of its meat-manufacturing plant in Mitchelstown. The closure was attributed to an increasingly competitive market and a rising cost base.
Fianna Fáil TD Ned O'Keeffe yesterday refuted suggestions by the company that the closure had been forced by events beyond its control. He said he was appalled at how an apparently profitable pigmeat business just four years ago could become loss-making.
"I just can't understand how this was allowed to happen. This is a catastrophe for Mitchelstown. It all comes down to mismanagement really. Nothing else can explain it. The workers have given everything to this plant."
The risk of closure had been widely speculated on for some time. There have been industrial relations difficulties at the plant as the company sought to cut costs and industrial action was only averted with the assistance of the Labour Relations Commission.