Major blow for the Midlands as factory employing hundreds is set to close

A medical devices manufacturer in the Midlands will close completely by April 2026, workers were told this morning.

Employees at Cardinal Health in Tulamore, County Offaly were called into a meeting by management at the plant at Srah Business Park.

One worker revealed that staff will begin leaving in March or April next year as the phasing in of the shutdown begins.

Staff were told that cost pressures were the reason for the decision to end production in Tullamore and the US-owned multinational mentioned sister plants in Costa Rica and Mexico as possible alternative locations for manufacturing.

Talks on the detail of redundancy packages will begin soon and staff are to return to work on Monday.

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One employee said she felt management had been "very fair" this morning.

"They said we'll get six weeks redundancy (per year of service) and the two weeks statutory. [The plant] will be phased out over 20 months," said the worker.

"They're going to go into talks and packages next week, on what we're entitled to, starting from next Monday. They don't exactly know but they're looking at March or April for some staff to be phased out.

"Even the people that are getting close to retirement are getting full service redundancy."

Some workers are relieved that the job losses are not immediate. 

One said: "What can you do? I'm just glad that we have until next April to let it sink in."