A factory in Athlone which makes electrical cable is to close this summer with the loss of almost 100 jobs.
A statement from Nexans Ireland said the 96 employees had been told about the closure today.
The company's Ireland and UK manager Paul Nelson told staff there had been 'considerable efforts' by workers over the past few years. But he said Nexans could not sustain losses from the plant's narrow product range, which was being hit by lower prices and severe competition.
The company said the Athlone plant has been loss-making for most of the past ten years. Management will now start talks with unions.
Nexans has been an employer in Athlone since 1972 and employs more than 22,000 people worldwide.
Earlier, there was better jobs news, with 30 jobs to be created in Dublin by a US company which is a leading provider of online video and media advertising products and services.
EyeWonder, which has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, is to locate its sales and customer support operation in Dublin.
The company said it had chosen Dublin due to the availability of skilled personnel with experience of both online and offline European advertising here, along with the country's business environment and the cluster of technology and media trading companies within the sector.
'EyeWonder will represent the first company within this sector of the digital media space to locate in Ireland the company represents the high value added activities associated with this industry,' commented the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin.
