Job cuts to start at Sara Lee
A severance package has been accepted by the workers, following negotiations between management at the plant and SIPTU.
All production is due to cease by the mid-March.
Another Killarney company, Transmould, is also closing this year and will be letting its workers go on a phased basis.
According to SIPTU official Donal Tobin, a total of 160 jobs will be lost in Killarney this year.
The area has suffered a falloff in industrial employment, in recent years, while the German-owned Liebherr plant, which manufactures container cranes for the international market, continues to be the major industrial employer in the area, with more than 400 on the payroll.
Killarney is hugely dependant on tourism for employment, but Mr Tobin said he did not agree with the argument that manufacturing industry could not be attracted to the area.
He called on State agencies, politicians, local business and investors to work with the union in promoting Killarney as an attractive industrial centre.
