Cadbury Schweppes Ireland refused to rule out redundancies among its 1,600-strong Irish staff saying it is assessing all aspects of its business in a bid to trim costs.
The confectionery company has unveiled a major cost-cutting programme which will see the closure of a fifth of its 133 factories worldwide and cut 10 per cent of its 55,000-strong workforce over the next four years.
Amid speculation about the future of its Irish business, Cadburys said that it too will be working on its "best configuration" to meet its growth and cost targets. Cadburys added that talk of job cuts was premature as an appraisal of the business had just begun.
In any event any cuts would be discussed with employees first, the company said.
Cadburys employs about 1,500 people at its manufacturing plant in Coolock, Dublin, and a further 100 at its factory in Rathmore, Co Kerry.
Just two weeks ago Cadbury announced the closure of two factories in Manchester and Chesterfield in Britain with the loss of 550 jobs. It employs about 7,000 people in Britain.
The company's Irish operation has a turnover in excess of €350 million, and exports more than 90 per cent of its production.