Two hundred workers are set to lose their jobs after Brinks Ireland announced it was closing down its cash-in-transit operation in the Republic.
The closure, which was condemned by the trade union Siptu, will affect 201 employees at the company's bases in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Brinks said the decision to pull out of the Irish market was not taken lightly and followed efforts to find a sustainable business model in the Republic.
“The Irish secure logistics market has not been profitable for the past few years and Brinks believes that in its current state the market does not offer the potential for sustainable growth or profitability,” it said in a statement.
The company will wind down its operation in the Republic by the end of July, and said it was opening discussions with employees on their redundancy programme and finding new jobs.
Siptu organiser Brendan Carr said that only last month union representatives completed an agreement with Brinks management on a major restructuring deal, "which we were ensured would safeguard the company's future in Ireland.
“Unfortunately, despite the sacrifices of its workforce and their willingness to adapt to the company’s demands, it has still decided to end its operations,” Mr Carr said, adding that the workers were “extremely disappointed” by the news.
Minister’s intervention
The union said it would work towards finding new jobs for as many of the workers as possible and welcomed an intervention by Minister of State for Business and Employment Ged Nash, who asked Brinks to reconsider its decision.
Mr Nash also said he would work with the union and employees to try and secure positions within the industry for as many of them as possible.
Mr Carr said the job losses were partly due to the operation of low-cost employers in the security industry.
“These operators are expanding by undermining workers’ conditions in what is an extremely difficult industry, with a resulting decline in standards,” he said.
Separately, Brinks is negotiating the sale of its Northern Irish operations.
The company said that in the meantime it would continue to operate there and that services to customers in the region would not be affected.
