A Co Limerick community was dealt a further blow yesterday with news that 150 jobs are to go at a local poultry producers, the second major such announcement in the area in less than a month.
Castlemahon Food Products announced the loss of 150 jobs yesterday as part of a restructuring programme designed to secure the future of the company.
The announcement came just three weeks after it was revealed that Kantoher Food Products, which is just four miles from Castlemahon, is to close with the loss of 140 jobs, and days after 40 jobs were lost at O'Reilly's Fruit and Vegetable in nearby Newcastlewest.
The decision to cut the 410-strong workforce at Castlemahon Food Products to 260 is due to competition in the market place and rising operating costs, according to the company.
Shocked staff criticised management for not informing them of the news, and said the first they heard about it was on the local radio news.
"We were told nothing inside in the factory about it. The first we heard about it was on the 12 o'clock local news," said Mr Michael Russell (39), who has been working with the company for the past 11 years.
"I feel very bad. It's scandalous altogether. We should have been the first to be told about it, and then the media should be talking about it, not the other way round.
"We don't know what the story is. No one knows who's going to lose their job.
"The union has been in talks with management all morning, but the workers don't know anything."
Mr Kevin Farrell, who started working at Castlemahon three years ago, said: "I don't know what's happening. No one seems to know for sure what's going on, but there is talk that 82 jobs are going on the factory floor. It's very disappointing the way we heard the news."
Ms Marie Horan (21), a single mother, said: "We haven't been told anything, but I'd say my job is gone.There are other people there an awful lot longer."
A Fianna Fáil councillor, Mr Michael Collins, said it was a "devastating blow" for west Limerick.
"Today's loss of 150 jobs comes just days after 40 jobs were lost at O'Reilly Fruit and Vegetables and less than a month after news that Kantoher is to close. That's 330 jobs in a community with a population of 6,000.
"And that's without even beginning to quantify the number of other jobs that will be lost in businesses that depended on Kantoher and Castlemahon Food Products."
Castlemahon Food Products joined the O'Kane group in 1984, and the group is planning to consolidate aspects of production at its plant in Northern Ireland.
In a statement, Mr Pat Mulvehill, the managing director, described the proposed restructuring as essential to secure the continued operation of the plant. "The reorganised business will provide a solid platform for the planned future growth and development," he said.