Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is to close its manufacturing plant in Cruiserath, Ireland, with the loss of 130 jobs by the end of 2015. A further 30 positions will be cut at the nearby plant in Swords as one of several operating units on that site is also shuttered.

BMS tied the closures to ‘changing market demand’ for its products, along with efforts to optimise its manufacturing network. The remaining 320 employees at the Swords plant will continue to manufacture bulk pharmaceuticals.

Susan Hynes, BMS’s general manager of active pharmaceutical ingredient operations Ireland, said in a statement that ‘the company is working to explore potential future uses of the Cruiserath facility and will endeavour to minimise job losses in Ireland’.