Abbott Labs has confirmed that its operation in Galway will close and eliminate 500 jobs, according to RTE News. The facility makes stents, which have made headlines this year over safety issues that are plaguing all the stent makers. Abbott, by the way, employs about 3,400 people in Ireland, where Boston Scientific recently announced plans to cut its own workforce by 100 positions.

UPDATE: Abbott is also cutting another 700 jobs at a facility in California, the Associated Press reports. An Abbott spokesman, Kurt Ebenhoch, says the cuts are necessary because of “market conditions” and changes that have helped Abbott becomes more efficient as it makes cardiovascular products.

The news out of Ireland comes only a few days after Merck disclosed plans to build a $297 million plant in Ireland to develop and manufacture vaccines, creating 170 new jobs. Merck already has a production facility in the south of the country that employs 360 people and makes active pharmaceutical ingredients for Merck subsidiaries globally.The drugmaker is currently building a $200 million research and manufacturing facility at the site, in the town of Clonmel, which is expected to be completed by 2010, Reuters notes.