Guinness is to shed more jobs at three Irish breweries in the wake of 290 redundancies at its brewery and packaging plants in Dundalk. A spokesman for Guinness Ireland said last night that further redundancies would result from rationalisation in Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford.
The group said yesterday that it planned to close Dundalk Packaging, which employs 200 people, and that 90 of the 150 jobs at Dundalk Brewing, the former Great Northern Brewery, would go. The packaging jobs will go in September and the brewery jobs by next June.
Some of the jobs lost in Dundalk will effectively be transferred to Belfast where Guinness is to expand its remaining Irish packaging plant.
Last night the group said they expect to receive grant aid from the Industrial Development Board of Northern Ireland for the expansion.
But the spokesman said the financial assistance involved "was not a factor in the decision".
He said the difference in labour costs between Belfast and Dundalk had led to the decision to close the operation in the Republic.
The company will also keep open its packaging plant at Runcorn, near Liverpool.
A spokesman for the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, declined to comment last night on the prospect that government grants in Northern Ireland might have contributed to the demise of the Dundalk operation.
In a statement the Tanaiste said: "The Guinness tradition is very much an Irish tradition and I am, of course, disappointed that the company found it necessary to make this decision".
It is understood that when Ms Harney met executives from the company last Monday they told her they intended to shut Dundalk Brewing down completely.
The announcement that only 90 of the jobs are going is in effect a partial reprieve, according to departmental sources.
The Tanaiste announced the establishment of an inter-agency group to assist the redundant workers to find new jobs.
The Macardle Moore brewery located on the Dundalk Packaging site is also to close. Guinness said last night that both the Macardles and Harp brands would be retained.
Harp lager and Carlsberg are the main products of Dundalk Brewing. Carlsberg is brewed under licence from the Danish Carlsberg group.
The review of operations at the three other Guinness breweries in the Republic will take a number of months, according to the spokesman.
St James's Gate in Dublin is the company's most famous brewery and the home of the famous stout. More than 1,200 people are employed on the Dublin site, including administration, marketing and head office staff.
In May, Guinness announced it was cutting its 200-strong marketing department, based in St James's Gate, by half. In the region of 190 people are employed at the Kilkenny brewery which makes Smithwicks, and also Budweiser under licence.
Cherry's in Waterford which makes Hoffmans lager and a number of other products employs fewer than 40 people.
Guinness employs about 800 people in the North where, in addition to the Belfast packaging plant, it owns an extensive network of pubs and hotels. The company also owns a drinks distribution business.
SIPTU said last night that it was seeking immediate discussions on the future of the company's Dundalk operation.
"We are devastated for the employees and the town and the community. As a trade union group and employees, we are not accepting the company's decision.
"We are going to do everything, and explore all avenues, to rescue this site," said SIPTU shop steward Mr Jimmy Neary.
Dundalk Chamber of Commerce president Mr Aidan Donnelly said the move was particularly disappointing after the recent closure of Panasonic.
"The town does not need the loss of such established businesses. They are all core skills that are being lost to the town. We in the Chamber of Commerce will do everything we can to try and work with the different agencies to support the workers involved," he said.
