Around 140 workers lost their jobs today with the closure of a manufacturing company in Wicklow.
The AO Smith plant in Bray, which makes electric motors for air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, is to relocate its manufacturing to China and the US. The workers at the plant were told the news by management today.
Siptu said it was extremely disappointed because it had been engaged in negotiations with the American company to safeguard its future.
"This decision is an indictment of the corporate culture of relocating to Eastern Europe and the Far East in search of cheap labour and the fast buck," said branch secretary George Sheehan.
"We thought we had made considerable progress towards addressing the issues but unfortunately they didn't go far enough for corporate America."
The workers were allowed to leave the plant early to tell the news to their families. Some of them had worked with the company since it set up in Bray 29 years ago. It had made losses for the last five years.
Mr Sheehan said workers had still been shocked and traumatised by the announcement.
"Many employees have given long and dedicated service to the company and the closure will have further devastating consequences for those directly involved and the entire community of Bray and surrounding areas."
In a financial statement on its website, AO Smith said it would move its manufacturing operations from Bray to existing plants in North America and China by the end of June.
It said the closure costs were estimated to be approximately €6.6 million.
In Dublin, the Merops Nutrition pet food factory in Walkinstown is to close with the loss of 50 jobs.
Last year, it hit the headlines when eight workers won a Lotto jackpot of almost €7 million.
The eight men in their 20s said they planned to keep their jobs but today they were told that the company was to close.
Siptu food branch official Brendan Carr said there was an urgent need for Enterprise and Employment Minister Micheal Martin to devise a national strategy for the manufacturing sector, which is struggling in the face of competition from low wage countries.
"Workers who are forced out of jobs in the traditional sectors, cannot simply move into other hi-tech areas. Yet they deserve the same level of state support in terms of research, upskilling and the development of new markets," said food branch spokesman Brendan Carr.
PA