Almost 90 jobs are to be lost in two manufacturing plants in Killarney, Co Kerry, it was announced yesterday.
More than 70 jobs are expected to go at Transmould Ltd, manufacturers of fire detectors and plastic components, in the Ballyspillane industrial estate in the town.
A company statement yesterday said the "probable outcome was the cessation of operations at Killarney". Transmould - part of Cooper Industries Inc, a manufacturer of electrical equipment and tools - will close by next September.
Demand for Transmould's products was "in sharp decline", the statement said.
"Transmould's customers have outsourced the manufacture of their complete products to low-cost countries, notably China. The effect has been to repeatedly reduce the demand for the components they bought from Transmould."
The first redundancies will take place early next year. The company would do "everything practical" to support its employees.
Representatives from SIPTU met workers and management yesterday.
Mr Dónal Tobin, SIPTU branch secretary, said the job losses come as a big blow to Killarney on top of a poor tourist season. Some 30 jobs had already been lost this year with the closure of the American travel services company, Rosenbluth. He called for Government action to create more jobs in manufacturing and services in Killarney.
A specialised engineering company, Scott Tools, also announced it was to close with a loss of some 16 jobs. Production will cease at the 35-year-old company in November.
The high cost of insurance, rates, water charges, oil prices as well as the cost of British sourced high-speed steel were among the factors blamed. The steel jumped by one-third in price since January, mainly because of Chinese demand.
Competition from China and the Far East was also cited as a reason for the closure of the privately owned Killarney manufacturing company.