Over 150 staff are set to lose their jobs after Aviance, a firm which looks after ground handling and maintenance operations at Dublin airport, announced it is to cease operations at the end of March.
The company said the closure was due to "fundamental changes" to its business model due to the economic slowdown.
"A full review of the Aviance UK and Ireland business was recently carried out, which demonstrated that the cost base and customer profile could not be sustained within the Dublin business model," the firm said in a statement. "The circumstances which necessitate the closure are not unique to Dublin or to Aviance UK and Ireland and are a result of the current economic climate which has had a global impact on the aviation industry."
Aviance UK and Ireland employs about 4,500 people at airports in the UK and Ireland across a variety of services including ground handling, security, cargo and passenger.
The company said this afternoon that its Dublin airport employees will be helped to find other jobs. It added that workers will receive redundancy payments and a 90 day consultation period involving unions has begun.
Siptu said this afternoon that it had provided the firm with a business plan in an effort to secure the continuance of Aviance at Dublin airport.
“Aviance has advised us that it is giving active consideration to our survival proposals and a decision will be made in the next 24 hours. We are hopeful that this episode will have a successful outcome for all the workers at the company," said Siptu's civil aviation sectoral organiser Dermot O’Loughlin.
