The jobs of 70 workers at a Co Armagh textile factory are set to be lost after its major customer decided to source its products in eastern Europe, it was announced today.
The Portadown firm TJW said it would close at the end of March unless alternative orders can be found. The factory makes women's shirts for the leading London-based company Thomas Pink.
Factory manager Ms Roberta O'Connor said the company was very disappointed at the way the had been treated by Thomas Pink.
"They phoned last Friday and in a one minute conversation said there would be no more orders. We have about six to eight weeks production left which will reach to the end of March."
Unless orders can be secured elsewhere it will signal the end of the company which carries out 98 per cent of its work for Pink.
"Its very, very doubtful but we are pulling out all the stops trying to get other work," said Ms O'Connor.
Thomas Pink has decided to source its women's shirts in Romania to save money, she said, clearly angry at the short notice given to them.
"We knew six months ago they had been looking for off-shore production, we expected to lose some production but didn't expect to lose it all.
"They knew they were going off shore, if they had given us six to eight months notice instead of weeks we should have been able to do something about it."
In the three and a half years she had been at the firm the workforce had been trebled at the insistence of Thomas Pink, she said.
"We give them a good product, never let them down, but at the end of the day it all comes down to money," she added.
PA