Electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric Manufacturing is to close its facility in Celbridge, Co Kildare, by April 2004, with the loss of 265 permanent and 50 temporary jobs.
Earlier this year Schneider announced the closure of its Square D facility in Ballinasloe, which employed 385 people.
The Celbridge plant was established in 1977 and the company says the closure is part of its strategy to maintain competitiveness. Workers were told of the news at a meeting yesterday. The company will be meeting SIPTU and other staff to discuss over the next few days to discuss the phased closure of the plant.
The facility is partly manual and partly automated. The manual lines are to be transferred to the Czech Republic, while automated production will move to Schneider's Poitiers plant in France.
Schneider says one the main products made at Celbridge is being phased out, and its replacement range is not manufactured there.
Schneider, which is based in Paris, says its other Irish facilities - Schneider Electric Ireland, also in Celbridge, and Thorsman Ireland in Drogheda - are not affected by today's announcement.
