Bleak day as 670 jobs go in Dublin and North

Two separate companies are to close their Dublin operations with the loss of 290 jobs, it emerged today.

Sercom Solutions, a subsidiary of DCC, is to close its Clondalkin facility from the end of April with the loss of 220 jobs while 70 jobs are to go with the closure of the Smurfit Paper Mill in Clonskeagh next month.

On a bad day for jobs across the island, it was also announced that Teleflex Medical would cease its operations in Co Armagh with the loss of 300 jobs.

Further redundancies were also announced at British tobacco company Gallaher, whose brands include Silk Cut and Benson & Hedges, which plans to cut about 80 jobs at its Lisnafillan plant in Antrim.

Sercom Solutions, which supplies chain management and e-business services, said its market had been "impacted by the trend for technology companies, its traditional customer base, to relocate their manufacturing activities in Eastern Europe and Asia".

"To ensure the future viability of the business," the company said it had decided to consolidate the Irish operation at its Limerick plant, which employs 300 people. The remaining 32 jobs of the existing 252 in Dublin would be relocated at a smaller facility in the city, it said.

Elsewhere, a total of 58 permanent and 12 part-time jobs are to be cut at the Jefferson Smurfit paper mill plant in Clonskeagh, which has been in operation for 51 years.

The company said it acknowledged the considerable efforts of a skilled and loyal workforce but the facility was no longer viable.

"The decision follows a detailed review of the mill's operation, which has become uncompetitive due to a number of key factors, including reduced market pricing, increased energy costs, higher environmental charges and changing market requirements for packaging paper grades," a statement said.

"The mill will close in a month's time, thus allowing for an appropriate period for consultation with employee representatives and business partners. Management will begin this consultation process immediately."

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche this evening expressed his regret at the announcement of the closure of the Smurfit's paper mill plant in Clonskeagh.

Mr Roche said he sympathised with workers who will be losing their jobs and was concerned about the environmental implications. "The Smurfit plant, established in 1954, was the only paper mill recycling plant on the island of Ireland. Its closure diminishes our capacity to reprocess paper for recycling in Ireland," he said. "

Labour Party TD for Dublin South East, Mr Ruairí Quinn , described the announcement of the closure of the papermill as "part of a disastrous day on the jobs front in Dublin". Mr Quinn said: "The Jefferson Smurfit plant in Clonskeagh has been resident in Clonskeagh for over 50 years. As such, it has provided employment for a couple of generations of local people, who must now face up to the search for new work."

Teleflex Medical also announced the closure of its premises in Lurgan as part of a global restructuring strategy resulting in 300 redundancies.

More than 20 outlets worldwide will be hit by the decision taken by bosses in the United States. Shocked staff were informed today of the redundancies by management at the factory.

Mr John O'Dowd, a Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said the whole town was shattered by the announcement.

"The workers are not being paid off because there is no market for the product but because the plant owners are moving the people of Lurgan's jobs to Mexico and Malaysia, to low-paid jobs," he claimed.