Staff at a factory in Longford say it is to lay off 170 people.

Workers at the Cameron factory had a meeting with management where they were told the plant is to close with the loss of at least 170 jobs.

The engineering and manufacturing plant is involved with the global oil and gas industry and the announcement follows news that staff at its sister company in the UK, Onesubsea, were told of possible job losses.

The firm blamed a downturn in the oil and gas sector which they say has left “many of our plants underutilised”.

A statement from the company said: “It is with great regret that we advised our employees today that potentially manufacturing, assembly and test activities in Longford would cease during 2017.

“We understand the impact of this announcement on our employees and the local community.

“This is only a proposal at this stage and we will be conducting consultation with the unions and employee representatives and make every effort to try and mitigate as much as possible the impact on our employees.

“Cameron will maintain a presence in Longford and will continue to operate an R&D and engineering hub in the city.

“It is anticipated that we will continue to employ approximately 50 of our current employees. This again is subject to consultation,” they told RTÉ News.

Longford Chamber President, Derek Scanlon has likened today’s Cameron redundancy announcement to the loss of the Dell employment in Limerick City in 2009.

Mr Scanlon states: “The Government back then got to action immediately following the Dell job losses and we are calling on the Government now to take the same proactive steps for the former Cameron workers in Longford. The loss of 170 jobs in Longford will have the same economic impact on Longford Town and County that the 2,400 Dell jobs had in Limerick”.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry believes that there are other potential job opportunities in the region for the redundant workers but re-skilling and re-training would be a fundamental part of the process for those workers in seeking new employment.

Mr Scanlon went on to say “This re-training and re-skilling should take place in Longford and it should take place immediately and these workers should not have to wait until they have been on the live register for a length of time before they can access re-training assistance. We have many venues that can cater for such activity but it is fundamentally important that Government Action is taken on this matter urgently.”