Drinks maker Diageo Ireland is to cut 107 jobs as part of a programme to reduce costs.
The company, which makes Guinness, will enter into consultation with employees and it is proposed that as many as possible of the redundancies will be achieved through a voluntary programme over the next three months.
In a statement released today the company said it plans to reduce the size of its workforce across several areas of the business including support functions, sales, and marketing.
Chairman of Diageo Ireland Brian Duffy said: "The decisions taken today are the necessary steps to maintain a sustainable competitive business in Ireland."
The company said the redundancies come “in the context of the global economic downturn”.
Last month, Diageo said third-quarter revenue had declined on reduced US orders.
Sales excluding acquisitions and currency effects fell 7 per cent in the three months ended March 31st, the company said in a May statement.
The maker of Smirnoff vodka said US distributors and wholesalers cut inventory levels by 1 million cases at the end of the quarter, while Russia suffered a “significant decline”.
Labour’s Mary Upton described the company’s decision as bad news for Dublin.
She said: “Diageo is a profitable company with sales of products like Guinness substantially recovering in recent years, and the company is under no financial duress.”
”None of these job losses should be pushed through without full agreement from the workers, many of whom have been working for the company for most of their working lives,” she added.