Fears for Irish jobs at Enterasys and Aventis Pharma

US company Enterasys, which employs 100 people in Shannon, is to cut its workforce by 30%, that is around 1,700 people will lose their jobs.

The company has recently given profit warnings and for the first quarter it said that sales would fall below expectations. It is re-structuring to bring costs into line with revenues.

The company is a network equipment and was part of the original Cabletron. The Shannon facility is the company's Global Technical Assistance Centre.

At Aventis Pharma in Tipperary, where 230 people are employed, workers have been called to a meeting to be held today. There are fears that the closure of the plant will be announced at this meeting.

One of the biggest pharmaceutical companies worldwide, the company employs 500 people in Ireland at its facilities in Tipperary and in Citywest, Dublin. The company has recently been cutting back on some of its operations.