SIPTU has confirmed that 250 jobs are to go at Wyeth Medica in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
The company has introduced new lines and so need fewer workers.
SIPTU are to meet the company tomorrow and are hoping that some of the workers can be redeployed.
The company said it is investing €350 million in its manufacturing facility to expand future production capabilities for the company's emerging pipeline of pharmaceutical products and that IDA Ireland had assisted with this investment.
SIPTU's Adrian Kane said that the proposed job losses is bad news for the workers and the Kildare region, which has already been hit by big redundancies in the last two years from Magna Donnelly and Telemacanique.
He said SIPTU are hoping to minimise losses by exploring redeployment opportunities to other areas of the plant and other locations. He added that Wyeth are not relocating to a lower cost base country.
He said the pharmaceutical industry has done very well in Ireland and we have been fortunate in attracting major players but that the government needs to be on its guard if it is to maintain good quality jobs in this sector.
Wyeth Corporation employs 3,000 at its four Irish operations and is headquartered in New Jersey in the US. It is the 10th largest pharmaceutical company in the world and employs 51,000 people globally.
