Biscuit manufacturing at the Jacob's Dublin factory ends as workers leave the plant in Tallaght for the last time.
In 2008 the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group announced it would move production of their famous biscuits to sites abroad, resulting in the loss of 220 jobs on a phased basis.
The company founded in Waterford by Quakers William and Robert Jacob began baking biscuits in Dublin in 1853.
Its Bishop Street factory pioneered new products, played a role in the 1913 lockout, two world wars, and the Easter Rising.
Jacob's were leaders in marketing, becoming involved in early broadcasting with Radio Éireann through the Frankie Byrne radio show, and in sponsoring television and radio awards.
With the ovens finally switched off, workers at the Belgard plant in Tallaght left for the last time. But with unemployment in west Dublin soaring, those who lost their jobs may find it hard to get work.
One woman with 26 years’ service recalls,
I reared my family through here, my father worked here, my grandfather worked here, so there’s an era in my family gone.
Ray Stanley Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) shop steward recalls the Belgard plant was established to assist the transportation of Jacob's products around Ireland and beyond.
Moving the bulk of manufacturing of a quintessentially Irish brand abroad is a risky strategy. However, all existing brands of biscuits will continue to be available as before, including the iconic Jacob's Fig Rolls.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 22 May 2009. The reporter is Will Goodbody.
