The pharmaceutical company Pfizer has confirmed that it is to cut 177 jobs at two of its plants in Co Cork.
The company says the cuts are in response to a fall in demand for some of its medicines, and the need to reduce costs in line with that.
However, the company says Ireland remains a key strategic location.
In a statement, Pfizer said that the 177 positions will be reduced during 2013 at its two manufacturing sites in Cork, Little Island and Ringaskiddy, subject to consultation.
Senior management at Pfizer briefed staff on the cuts at separate meetings this morning, first in Little Island where 175 people are currently employed, and later in Ringaskiddy where there are another 450 employees.
Pfizer says it will shed 129 jobs in Ringaskiddy, and 48 jobs in Little Island.
SIPTU, which represents many of the affected workers, says it will be trying to negotiate the best outcome for its members but acknowledges today's announcement could have been worse.
Jerry Sharma, who has been with Pfizer for 18 years, says the news was greeted with mixed emotions.
The cuts are due to be implemented from the beginning of next year.
The company added that a key factor to the losses is the patent expiry of Atorvastatin (Lipitor) and other important medicines which have resulted in a decline in global demand.
"Patent expiry means greater competition which impacts global demand, and we need to readjust the scale of our manufacturing operations," said Dr Paul Duffy, vice president, Pfizer.
The company says a full range of services including career advice, one to one counselling, retirement planning and financial advice will be provided.
Pfizer employs approximately 4,000 people at eight sites in Ireland across manufacturing, shared services, treasury and commercial operations.
Pfizer opened its first site in 1969 and has invested $7 billion in operations in Ireland since then.
A number of other medicines are facing patent expiration in the coming years including Sildenafil (erectile dysfunction), Voriconazole (invasive fungal infections), and Eletriptan (migraine).
