Some 70 jobs are to be lost in a manufacturing company in Tralee, Co Kerry. The company, Glen Dimplex, has blamed competition from low-cost countries for the closure of its Tralee plant.
The announcement has been described as "a severe blow" by Mayor of Tralee Terry O'Brien. He called on agencies such as the IDA to do more for Kerry, which he said was constantly overlooked in job creation.
Formerly Goblin Ireland, the Tralee plant was acquired by Glen Dimplex as part of the ShopVac Europe acquisition in 1998 and initially employed 120 people in Tralee. At one stage Goblin employed 200.
Glen Dimplex group chief executive Seán O'Driscoll said the company very much regretted having to make the decision to close the Tralee factory.
He said the plant had been under considerable cost pressures from competition in low-cost countries for the last five years.
During that time the company had made substantial investments in new products for the plant, but unfortunately this had not been sufficient to maintain its viability.
"The decision to close the plant was made after we had reviewed and exhausted all options and concluded we could not return it to profitability," Mr O'Driscoll said.
The company would immediately enter into consultation process with all its employees, a statement said. It is understood the job losses will begin in April, with production jobs going first.
Jimmy Deenihan, Fine Gael TD for Kerry North, said the county would suffer further due to Government negligence in the area of job creation.
"Through a raft of stealth taxes and charges the Government has driven up the cost of doing business in this country, and it is Government policy that is forcing people out of work," he added.