69 jobs are set to be lost after the announcement that the local briquette factory is due to close next year with fears for another 56 jobs in the county.
Bord na Mona told staff in Littleton yesterday that the compulsory redundancies would take place over the next year.
Management are also admitting there could be further job loses among 56 Tipperary staff employed in peat harvesting after the factory closes.
The move is on the back of a review of operations in Tipperary and Offaly with the site in Derrinlough near Birr remaining as the only peat and biomass briquette factory in the country.
SIPTU and other unions representing local workers there say they will try to re-open discussions to save the jobs.
Local SIPTU Rep Seamus Taylor says they are planning to do everything they can to fight the decision – they have already set up an action group and plan on talking to local councillors and TDs.
County Councillor Eddie O’Meara says this is just the latest in a long list of closures to hit Mid-Tipperary – with Lisheen, the Sugar Factory, Gleeson’s and Erin Foods among those who have fallen by the wayside.
He is condemning the lack of loyalty the company’s shown to local workers – many of whom have been there for 30 or 40 years.
It’s a massive blow to the local economy.
Littleton Development Committee member Patricia Loughnane says it will force more people to leave the area to find work and have a huge impact on the local community.
