Cadbury Ireland today announced that it is to seek up to 450 redundancies at its Coolock manufacturing plant over the next two to three years.
In a statement released today the company said it had a long history of commitment to Irish manufacturing but needed to invest in "core technologies" and to "modernise work practices" to reflect the needs of a competitive marketplace with increased costs.
Labour TD Tommy Broughan
The statement said: "If we are successful in implementing this change programme, which will restore competitiveness to the Coolock site, we will secure an investment in excess of €100 million over the next two to three years.
"Our priority at the moment is to continue to communicate with all of our employees and this follows our tradition of sharing future plans with employees at the earliest opportunity" the statement added.
Local Fianna Fail TD Martin Brady said the decision required immediate action "to support workers affected and to ensure the plant remains a major employer into the future".
"While this announcement is a setback, Cadbury will remain a major employer in the local community and it is important that the jobs are protected into the future" he added.
Local Labour TD Tommy Broughan described the announcement as a "shocking hammer blow for Coolock and the Northside of Dublin".
Mr Broughan said: "My first thoughts are with those workers and their families who now face the prospect of losing their jobs.
"Cadbury Ireland has a long connection with the Coolock area, and had a great tradition of providing secure and relatively well-paid employment for local people.
He added that there has been a "haemorrhaging" of manufacturing jobs from the northside of the city adding that some parts of Coolock still have unemployment rates of up to 25 per cent.
