A leading international company that featured prominently in the recent launch of the Government's IDA report for 2006 has now shocked the west with news of a huge job loss.

Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest US multinationals in Ireland, has announced the loss of 500 jobs – a significant part of its Irish operations.

The medical devices company, which has been employing more than 3,500 people in six plants around Ireland, has now targeted the Galway plant in Mervue for closure.

Fine Gael Galway West TD Padraic McCormack said staff at the plant were devastated: "This could not have happened at a worse time of year with the Christmas break only weeks away and most families facing enormous expense," he said.

However, he welcomed the fact that Abbot is considering redeploying up to 50 staff at another location, but said this is little consolation to the workers who have homes in the city and whose children are attending schools.

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Sinn Féin Councillor Pádraig MacLochlainn described the job losses as a "severe blow for the county and the west of Ireland" and called on the government to invest in the region to counter the effects of the job cuts.

Ireland has fallen from fourth place to 22 in world competitiveness rankings some say because of soaring business costs and a lack of essential infrastructure.

Fine Gael innovation spokeswoman Deirdre Clune said the news was "a terrible blow for the area and will have major consequences for the local economy".

She said that the closure of the Galway plant is very worrying: "The staff and their families are understandably shocked by this news and now face a very uncertain future.

"Abbot is a huge life science employer in Ireland with a workforce of thousands across the country.

"The closure of the Galway plant is all the more worrying because Abbot is the sort of high-end, biomedical employer we are supposed to be attracting," she said.

Ms Clune concluded by saying that the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, now has an opportunity in the soon-to-be-announced 2008 Budget to take action to reduce inflation by two per cent next year by freezing the "stealth taxes" and charges controlled by the Government.

(BMcC)