The mid-west region has suffered another jobs blow with the loss of 178 manufacturing jobs at Shannon-based electronic component-maker, Tyco Electronics.
At noon yesterday, employees were told by management the company was ceasing its manufacturing operations in Ireland.
The jobs are being transferred to the company's facilities in India, China and Mexico.
In a brief company statement, Tyco Electronics explained the move was "based upon a strategic analysis of the company's manufacturing resources and a bid to improve efficiencies".
According to a company spokeswoman, the first redundancies will not take place until early 2008.
The transfer of the manufacturing operations is expected to be completed by September 2009.
Yesterday's announcement follows last month's combined job losses of 242 at Analog Devices in Limerick and Mohawk Europa in Shannon.
Siptu branch organiser Mary O'Donnell said the workers at Tyco Electronics were in "a state of shock".
"We agreed to a voluntary redundancy programme earlier this year with the loss of 25 jobs and we were assured then that there would be no further job cuts," she added.
"Today's announcement has come as a major surprise and I believe is part of a winding-down of manufacturing in the Shannon area."
Ms O'Donnell said workers are resigned to the loss. "Management has presented it as a fait accompli. A large number of the workforce here are long-serving with some giving just under 30 years service."
Tyco Electronics is to maintain a presence in the Shannon region with the retention of 20 jobs in the field of research and development.
According to Fine Gael TD Pat Breen, yesterday's jobs loss announcement is "devastating and is further proof of Ireland's deteriorating competitiveness".
It was "a very troubling development for Shannon and the midwest region, particularly given the ongoing concerns about Aer Lingus's decision to axe its Heathrow routes . . .
"The fact that these jobs are going overseas to the cheaper economies of India, China and Mexico is confirmation that Ireland's competitiveness is still in decline, hitting Irish manufacturing and causing job losses."
Mayor of Clare Patricia McCarthy and mayor of Shannon Seán McLoughlin, both councillors, expressed concern that the jobs blow was the fourth such announcement to be made by a local manufacturing firm in recent weeks.
According to Ms McCarthy: "Business, community and political leaders across the region fear that the recent manufacturing job losses could mark the beginning of a haemorrhaging of the sector in the midwest. The massive uncertainty created by the potential loss of direct access from Shannon airport to the international hub in London Heathrow has heightened fears that other multinationals could follow suit by announcing job cuts or plans to relocate elsewhere."
Mr McLoughlin expressed concern that some of those who had lost their jobs would find it difficult to secure new employment.
He said: "Many of these workers, who have been employed in the manufacturing sector for many years, will find it difficult to upskill themselves.
"Therefore it is going to be extremely difficult for them to secure new employment in present-day high-tech knowledge-based companies."
A spokesman for Shannon Development yesterday described the Tyco Electronics announcement as "a severe blow for the employees and their families".
