The workforce of APC in Castlebar were given the worst possible Christmas present this week when they were informed that the company’s Castlebar facility will close in early 2010 with the loss of up to 65 jobs. At a meeting on Thursday morning the company informed staff members that it expected to have the closure of the facility complete by the end of the first quarter of next year.
This news will come as serious blow to the Castlebar and the county as jobs continue to be shed around Mayo during the economic downturn. APC, in a statement, said that it informed the workforce of the news early on Thursday and it will make every effort to redeploy some of the 65 affected staff in its other operations, and that of the 75 staff the company has in Castlebar, 10 will be unaffected by the news. APC also stated that it will offer very competitive redundancy packages to those affected and will make every effort possible to assist those who have lost their jobs.
Fianna Fáil TD Deputy Beverly Flynn described the news as a devastating blow to the town of Castlebar, and she hoped that some of the staff who have been with the company for upwards of 13 years would be redeployed. “It is very regrettable that trading difficulties have caused APC to close its Castlebar operation,” she added. “It is a devastating blow to the workforce just before Christmas.” She also commented that APC was a very good employer in the town while it was here and that it has continued that with what she believes is a very good redundancy package which shows its commitment to its workforce.
Mayor of Castlebar town, Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne, said it will be a huge blow to the town. “I’m very sorry to hear the news that APC is closing down,” he said. “It’s sad for the town and especially for the people who were working there coming up to Christmas. It shows that we have to do everything we can as elected officials to create jobs for our people in this county, because if you are relying on a few major employers and they decide to go it could be a disaster.”
With a large number of people losing their jobs over the past year in the county, Cllr Kilcoyne said that this is something that he deals with every week. “Every week at my clinics I have people coming in to me, asking me do I know where there is a job going, any job, even if it is for only a few hours a week,” he revealed. “People are finding it very hard to get work out there because there is none at the minute, and now were going to see another number of people added to that list of the unemployed in Castlebar.”
