The old-fashioned factory building with its traditional slanted and corrugated iron roof gave a sense of how long the Kylemore Bakery has been based on McKee Avenue in Finglas.

A distant hum from the factory indicated work was still in progress at the plant, but it could not hide the fact that, within a month, the Kylemore Bakery would cease operations.

Some staff leaving the plant yesterday were reluctant to talk but those who did were genuinely upset and shocked by the sudden news.

"Staff were absolutely floored," said Ms Theresa Whitty, a worker at the bakery. "We were told to meet in the canteen at 12 o'clock. There were speakers and microphones set up there, so we knew then there was something serious up."

"It was completely out of the blue," said another worker.

Workers were told that the company was losing money and could no longer compete in the marketplace and had no option but to close.

"The management said the food chain wasn't as big as it used to be. They couldn't keep it going. "There were so many other companies out there and they couldn't keep up with them," said an employee.

Some other staff members said rumours had been circulating that the bakery had been seeking some sort of joint venture arrangement with other companies and retailers, but nothing had come of it.

The first some workers heard about the closure was from radio news reports.

"I heard about it on the radio at two o'clock," said one man whose shift did not start until the afternoon.

As workers began filing out of the gates, a colleague arrived to check the news he had heard earlier.

"The first I heard about it was when my mother rang me to tell me," he said. "I'm distraught. I was just about to go on holidays."

He said the prospects of finding another job in the bakery business were slim.

"A lot of people in there weren't expecting this," said another staff member. "They thought these jobs were safe."