A cigarette company that has operated in Ireland for eighty years is to close with the loss of 90 jobs.
Imperial Tobacco today said it is to shut its Players cigarette factory in Dublin.
Production will be transferred to the company's site in Nottingham, England. The group said the move would be complete by February next year and would not affect sales of the group's products in Ireland.
It said the closure was not related to the smoking ban introduced earlier this year.
A spokesman said the move was unlikely to result in extra jobs for local people in Nottingham, although a small number of skilled employees may be invited to transfer there from Dublin.
He said all the job losses in Ireland would be compulsory redundancies and that the company would help staff to find new jobs.
An estimated 60 sales and marketing staff will remain in Dublin, where the group makes John Player King Size and Superkings cigarettes. The firm's Mullingar site produces Drum and Golden Virginia rolling tobacco.
Siptu said the decision by Imperial Tobacco to close the facility at Park West had come as a shock to workers at the plant.
"Our members at John Player are deeply upset at this news," said Siptu branch secretary Ms Anne Speed.
She said the union believed there would be a continuing need for a distribution service in Ireland. The company had also indicated it wants to contract out the last remaining element of distribution to a third party but the union would not agree to such a move.
"The deadline for 75 redundancies has been set for February 2005 with a further 15 jobs to go in April 2005. We have questioned the need for such a tight deadline - given the problems workers face in finding alternative employment in the manufacturing sector.
"Siptu and other unions at the plant will be seeking an early meeting with management to discuss the implications of their decision for the workers," Ms Speed added.
"Many of the employees have given long service to John Player & Sons — helping to build the brand-name and the profile of the company over many years. Many younger employees have family responsibilities and mortgages to cope with."
The production facility at Park West in west Dublin was commissioned just a year ago following the closure of the famous Players site on the South Circular Road. Ms Speed said it had been expected the new facility would provide "some stability of employment into the future".
The closure of John Player & Sons marks the end of an era. The company has been making cigarettes in Ireland since 1924 having merged with Clarke Tobacconist in the 1830s, according to Ms Steed.
"Today's news comes as a big blow to the workers and the community."
Additional reporting: PA