GUINNESS is to close its plants in Dundalk and Kilkenny but the company's flagship brewery at St. James's Gate in Dublin -- also initially feared scheduled for the axe -- will continue operating although with scaled-back production.Although 250 jobs are to go the company's parent, Diageo, said St James's Gate will remain the home of Guinness as it has been since 1759. An upgraded brewhouse will be built on the site as part of a multi-million euro investment by Diageo in its Irish operations.All production from the St. Francis Abbey brewery in Kilkenny and the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk will be transferred to a new brewery - the largest in Ireland - expected to open on the outskirts of Dublin in 2013.There was mixed reaction to the plan. New Tanaiste (Deputy Leader) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan welcomed the changes and said they would secure the future of brewing in Ireland. She acknowledged disappointment over the job cuts and said it was important to start work immediately to minimize the impact of the losses.Coughlan took some flak for her comments. Fine Gael's Enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar claimed she was indifferent to the plight of the workers who will lose their jobs.But the employers' lobby group, IBEC, said the proposed new multi-million investment was "a stunning vote of confidence" in the state as a location for business and was the biggest single investment in the history of the Irish food and drink sector.The job cuts mean that Diageo's core brewing staff in Ireland will shrink by more than half. It employs 434 people in its brewing operations, but it is envisaged that the new brewery will employ about 100, with 65 brewing staff remaining at St James's Gate and 18 at Waterford.The new Dublin brewery will have the capacity to produce about one billion pints a year and will brew Harp, Smithwicks, Carlsberg and Budweiser beers as well as Guinness stout.