Abbott Cutting Jobs at Plant in Ireland

An Irish government official said recently that Abbott Laboratories plans to close a 498-worker plant in Galway, calling the planned shuttering "a major blow" to the workers who will lose their jobs in the western Ireland facility. The plant makes vascular devices, known as stents, that are inserted into arteries to keep them open. Ireland's Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued a statement in response to what he called an announcement by Abbott's Irish subsidiary, that it will close the plant in Galway because of "excess capacity internationally." He noted Abbott will remain a major employer in Ireland, with over 3,000 workers at sits in Sligo, Longford, Clonmel, Donegal and Cavan.