Kells in Co Meath has been dealt a major employment setback with the news that 75 per cent of the workforce in the town's biggest company are to be let go in the coming weeks.

CTM Southborough confirmed that 150 of the 200 jobs are expected to disappear due to the loss of a major contract with Dell, the contract going to another Irish firm, LMS Beach in Tullamore.

CTM secured the order to supply 95,000 metal frames a month to Dell in 1997. A spokeswoman for CTM said that Dell had no problem with quality or delivery "but they want global suppliers, someone with facilities in America or the Far East". The company has been in Kells for 22 years and was originally an IDA supported venture. Last year CTM bought Southborough from Unidare. The jobs are expected to be lost just before and after Christmas. In a statement the company confirmed that "a substantial amount of Dell work performed by CTM/Southborough will be transferred to another supplier over the course of the next several months. It will be making every effort to replace the loss of the Dell work over the coming months". The IDA confirmed LMS Beach is a new IDA supported company based in Tullamore and will provide 300 jobs within 3 years. Dell has a manufacturing plant in Limerick with 1,078 employees, while its telemarketing base in Bray provides 294 jobs and is also IDA backed.