The Allergan Pharmaceutical company in Westport, Co Mayo has announced that it is to lay off 325 workers out of its total work force of more than 900.
240 of the workers who are to lose their jobs are full-time employees. The remaining 85 are temporary or contract staff. The company said it will offer voluntary redundancies and will provide outplacement assistance to those losing their jobs.
Allergan makes solutions for contacts lenses and it also manufactures Botox, which is used in cosmetic facial procedures and for the treatments of therapeutic neuromuscular disorders.
It says the job losses have occurred following the spin-off of its optical medical device business to Advanced Medical Optics. It said this decision was taken in 2002 to enable Allergan to focus on its core high growth businesses in specialty pharmaceuticals.
David Pyott, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Office of the company, said he regretted the job losses and added that the company is committed to its presence in Ireland. As well as the Westport facility, Allergan has a customer services centre in Dublin which serves Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Allergan's headquarters is based in Irvine, California. It employs 5,000 people worldwide.
Enterprise, Trade & Employment Minister Micheal Martin expressed disappointment at the news, but welcomed Mr Pyott's statement of the company's commitment to Westport.
