Tallaght in Dublin is set to lose 180 jobs as a manufacturing plant there has told its staff it will halt production.
180 jobs will be lost at APW Enclosures on the Airton Road in Tallaght.
Shop stewards at the company were told today that management has decided to shut the plant by July.
APW Enclosures makes cabinets and other computer parts for use in the IT industry, mostly for the export market. Formerly known as Computer Fab, the company has been operating in Tallaght for over 18 years. It also has plants in Cork and Galway.
With the rising domestic cost base, high oil prices and the euro's appreciation against the dollar, computer equipment exports fell by 8.5% last year. The company said the Dublin site had incurred losses over the past three years.
The company said that increased price competition from low cost regions across the world have made the future of the Dublin site unsustainable.
Management at APW is to begin negotiations with staff immediatley, and APW is aiming for full closure of the site by July 1, 2005.
