240 jobs are set to be lost with the phased closure of a pharmaceutical plant in Co Clare.
Roche Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of the Roche Group with headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.
On November 12th last year, the company confirmed its plans to exit the Clarecastle facility following a review of Roche’s worldwide manufacturing network for small molecules.
Despite efforts to sell the plant as a going concern, management this afternoon told workers that no such deal could be agreed.
A Roche spokesman confirmed: “Following a rigorous examination, negotiations for the transfer of the Clarecastle manufacturing site to a global pharma services company have ended without an agreement.
Therefore, as announced in November 2015, production at Clarecastle will cease in a phased approach currently estimated to be completed between 2018 and 2019 when Roche will exit the site.”
“Roche will now enter into formal consultation with employees and their representatives. The company is committed to acting fairly and equitably with all employees and to providing the necessary and appropriate support,” the company said in a statement.
The facility was established in 1974 as Syntex Ireland on 36 hectares of land overlooking the Fergus River in Clarecastle, Co Clare.
In 1994, Syntex Ireland became part of the Pharmaceutical Division of the Roche Group, when Roche acquired the Syntex Corporation.