DHL Express to cut 320 jobs in Ireland

DUBLIN May 7 (Reuters) - DHL Express (DPWGn.DE) will cut 320 jobs in Ireland and close a number of depots after a downturn in its domestic delivery business, the SIPTU trade union representing the workers said on Thursday.

"The union is willing to do its utmost during the days ahead to work with management in an effort to save as many jobs as possible," Pat Ward, a SIPTU organizer, said in a statement.

No one from DHL Express, which delivers documents and small parcels and is owned by Deutsche Post, was available to comment.

Ireland's social welfare lines are ballooning as the economy heads into the second straight year of recession. The estimated unemployment rate rose to 11.4 percent in April and economists polled by Reuters expect it to hit 14 percent by the end of the year. [ID:nL1189945] (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Toni Reinhold)