A printing press in Kilkenny is to close by the end of the year with the loss of 46 jobs.
Kilkenny People Printing, which prints the Kilkenny People, Clonmel Nationalistand Tipperary Star, informed staff of the redundancies today.
The Johnston Press, which owns the company, said it was moving printing operations for these papers to Limerick and Northern Ireland.
There are 42 full-time and four part-time employees at the plant.
The Unite trade union which represents the workers has been called into consultation with the company.
"We have a Labour Court recommendation from August 2007 which clearly states, having heard arguments from both sides with regard to redundancy proposals at the time, that workers should be paid four weeks salary per
year of service over and above the statutory redundancy payment and that this should be uncapped,” Unite said in a statement issued this afternoon.
“Johnston Press made half year profits of nearly GB£30 million in the first six months of 2009. We expect them to play fair with their Irish workforce," Unite regional officer Billy Kyne said.
“This decision is a hammer blow to the City which only days ago was riding high,” he added.