A plan to cut jobs at Pfizer's manufacturing plant in County Kildare is part of a 'worrying trend', SIPTU has said.
The union is seeking a meeting with officials to discuss the future of 100 jobs at the Newbridge facility.
The pharmaceutical giant announced the job losses on Tuesday as it seeks to re-organise its labour division following the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is believed some of the jobs will be moved to other facilities in Cork and Dublin, where 230 new positions are to be created by Pfizer.
SIPTU Manufacturing Division Organiser Greg Ennis said the company needs to come to the table.
"A hundred jobs is a big hit on the economy in Newbridge," he said.
"We believe approximately 70 of those jobs will be directs, in other words people who are directly dealing with the machinery and the product itself.
"We'll be seeking an urgent meeting with Pfizer to see can we lessen or indeed irradicate the need for redundancies at that facility."
Mr Ennis said the Government has to be more proactive to try and save jobs.
"We've seen the closure of Cartamundi in Waterford at the of August with the loss of 300 jobs," he said.
"We've now seen the proposed closure of Wyeth in Askeaton, and I would call on the Government to start addressing these issues, to start engaging with the trade unions and the employers to see what can be done to save these jobs," he added.
Pfizer employs around 3,700 people across six sites in Ireland.
