SIPTU last night criticised the Swiss management of airline maintenance firm SR Technics for not consulting with local staff before announcing the closure of its Dublin airport base with the loss of 1,135 jobs.

The Government was tonight accused of sitting idly by as two flagship employers in the aviation industry announced job cuts.

Devastated workers milled around outside the sprawling SR Technics plant today, desperately trying to come to terms with the shocking news that 1,135 staff were being laid off.

More than 1,100 jobs are to be axed at a leading aircraft maintenance firm, it was announced today.