About 200 people are likely to lose their jobs in Dublin following the recommendation by an examiner that Linen Supply of Ireland Ltd close two of its plants.
The company said tonight it deeply regretted the news.
As part of his plan to restructure the company Kieran Wallace of KPMG has proposed that the company’s plants at Fonthill and Naas Road should close.
Head of human resources at the company Tara Devitt said this was a sad day for the company and the employees affected, but it was clear that painful decisions would have to be taken if the ultimate goal of keeping the business going and saving up to 300 other jobs was to be achieved.
“As we indicated in our application for examinership, the textile side of our business has been badly hit by the downturn in the hospitality and retail sectors. This together with a high cost base put the company in an extremely difficult situation."
She said the examiner felt the changes are necessary "if we are to have a viable business".
"We will be meeting with employees from these plants and their representatives in the coming days to discuss redundancy terms.”
Linen Supply said Micronclean plant in Spiddal, Co Galway, which employs 69 people, was viable and that it should be established as a separate entity. The examiner will recommend this course of action for approval.
Ms Devitt said the examiner had presented a detailed restructuring plan, under which changes would have to be made to the terms and conditions of employment at all its plants.
Significant rent reductions at plants in Cork and Galway will also have to be achieved, she said.
"If we can get our costs down on those two fronts, we believe the company has a bright future and hundreds of jobs can be saved.”