Ninety job losses were announced yesterday by three companies - one in Waterford and two in Donegal. The redundancies followed Thursday's announcement of 140 job losses at the Waterford factory of US company Hasbro.
In Waterford city, Hitol, a specialist engineering company, announced 31 redundancies. In Dungloe, Co Donegal, Hovid, a Malaysian firm that manufactures paintball pellets for use in adult war games, is to temporarily lay off 49 workers. The company blamed a drop in orders.
It was also confirmed yesterday that Greencastle Seafoods in north Donegal is to close with the loss of 10 jobs. Established in 1985, it employed 30 people at its peak. The closure is being blamed on the Government's failure to get increased fishing quotas for Ireland.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte, speaking during a visit to Waterford, said the week's job losses in the city demonstrated that Ireland "can't compete any more in the area of traditional manufacturing".
Seán Lyons, managing director of the family-owned Hitol, said the company would be winding down its operations over the next few weeks. Mr Lyons blamed "competitive pressures and rising input and operation costs". The company, which builds precision engineering components for the Irish and export markets "can no longer compete with manufacturers in China and other east Asian countries".
In Donegal, public representatives are concerned that the Hovid lay-offs may be for a considerable time and will leave only 10 full-time employees. Hovid is located in Dungloe in a plant that was originally earmarked for the leisurewear manufacturer Fruit of the Loom. Údarás na Gaeltachta sanctioned grant assistance worth over €3 million, but the company never reached the original job target of 150.