The Irish bakery and restaurant chain Kylemore Foods Group announced today it is laying off more than 300 workers at the end of August.
The company, which started trading in 1887, is closing its bakery in Finglas, Dublin, with the loss of 204 jobs, and 24 retails shops around the country.
The group has said it will concentrate on its ‘par-baked’ bread manufacturing business, where stores finish baking frozen part-cooked products, and its Cafe Kylemore restaurant chain.
It is to make 317 workers redundant, some of them part-time staff. Kylemore said in a statement that, with changing consumer habits and increased distribution costs, their traditional fresh bakery business was no longer viable.
The 24 shops set to close include 11 in Dublin, with the rest in Cork, Limerick and other towns around the country.
The company, which expressed deep appreciation for its employees, many of whom were long serving, told the workers of the decision today.