A meat factory is to close in Monaghan with the loss of 80 jobs.
Workers at Barford Meats in Carrickmacross were told the company would cease trading later today. The company processed meat for the retail and catering sectors.
Siptu said the workers were devastated to receive the news. "This is a harsh blow - delivered just six weeks before Christmas - to 80 workers who have given long and loyal service to the company," said Monaghan branch secretary Mr Jim Mullery.
He added that major Government investment in the area was needed because there was little alternative employment. "Otherwise these workers are facing not just a bleak Christmas but a very bleak future."
A Barford spokeswoman said management were in meetings and were unavailable for comment on the closure.
In the wake of the BSE crisis in the mid 1990s, Barfood Meat entered an alliance with Eurostock Meat Marketing in Co Down. Both companies began producing Halal meat for the Islamic community.
Another major food processor shut down in Monaghan three years ago. Monaghan Poultry Products closed with the loss of 300 jobs after the Department of Agriculture found it to be in breach of EU hygiene regulations.