Merck, the German life sciences multinational, is to close its plant in Arklow, Co Wicklow, in 2028, with the loss of 100 jobs.
Staff at the plant were notified of the decision on Wednesday morning, and consultations are due to take place between the company and trade union Siptu, which represents staff.
It is understood that employee contracts will be unaffected during the consultation period.
The plant makes active ingredients for pharmaceutical products.
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In a statement, Merck, which employed some 753 people in Ireland at the end of last year, said: “Following a strategic portfolio review of products at our Arklow, Ireland site, the decision has been made to discontinue the API (active pharmaceutical ingredients) portfolio.
“As a result of this decision, it is proposed to discontinue operations at the Arklow facility by the end of 2028. Consultation on this proposal will commence immediately.”
“This is of significant concern for the Arklow area, impacting on about 100 employees,” said Malcolm Byrne, Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow-Wexford.
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“It is critical if possible that they can be redeployed within the company. The company has assured me that they are about to engage with unions and employee representatives.”
Mr Byrne added: “I know the site and quite a few working there.
“I will be raising this directly with Government that we look to ensure that we have a replacement in place before 2028. Arklow has a rich tradition in the field of chemical production, and we need every agency to focus on finding a new enterprise.”
Merck is not part of the US drug multinational Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), which also has operations in the Republic.
Merck Life Science, the company behind the Arklow plant, saw its operating profits drop by half to €42.3 million in 2024, according to its most recently filed set of accounts, despite a 14.5 per cent jump in turnover.
The decline was driven primarily by a decline in dividends received from subsidiary companies, the company’s directors said in a report attached to the accounts.
Merck Millipore, the main Irish arm of the German pharmaceutical giant Merck Group, reported a 25 per cent decline in turnover in 2024 due to what it described as softer demand across life sciences globally.
In a note, the directors said the “proposed introduction of higher tariffs and customs duties by the US government could either impact the profitability of the company’s business, if those additional costs cannot be passed on to the group’s end customers”.
Tariffs could also “increase sales revenue, if more production for non-US customers is serviced from the company instead of through the USA”, they said.
Merck’s main Irish site is located in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.
In 2022, the German group announced plans to invest €440 million to expand its manufacturing facilities in the county, which would create more than 370 new jobs by 2028.
The investment funded the expansion of the Carrigtwohill site and the construction of a new facility at Blarney Business Park, which opened in September.
The 3,000sq m clean-room facility at the new facility will produce advanced filtration products used in the manufacturing of therapies, including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies and new modalities such as cell and gene therapies.
