TECH FIRM MOLEX today announced that it will cease operations in Ireland by next year meaning the loss of up to 500 jobs. 

Staff at the firm, based in Shannon, were instructed to attend a meeting this afternoon where they were told that the US firm will cease trading here subject to what it described as an employee consultation process.

In a statement this evening, the firm said that products made at its Shannon plant had “insufficient financial returns and growth potential”.

“Therefore, these products will either be exited or divested, with any remaining products transferred to other Molex facilities,” it said in a statement to staff this afternoon.

“The impact of this decision will regrettably result in the closure of the facility impacting up to 500 employees. Announcing our intention to close this facility is very difficult due to its impact on our employees, and the deep ties Molex has with the region and its people having operated in Shannon since 1971.”

Business minister Heather Humphreys said she was “bitterly disappointed” with the news of the closure. 

She said: “My immediate thoughts are with the workers and their families at what is a very difficult time for them and for the wider Shannon area. I fully appreciate how important large-scale employers like this are to regional areas, which makes this company closure all the more difficult.”

“I spoke to the Global CEO of the company today and expressed my deep regret at the decision, particularly given the firm’s long history in Shannon and the role its workers there have had in its success. He unfortunately made clear that, while the decision was made very reluctantly, it is irreversible.”