The fate of 477 jobs at ­Whelan's Frozen Foods, a major supplier to Dunnes Stores in Ireland, is uncertain after the two companies disagreed in the Irish High Court last week over whether their dispute had been settled or not.

Dunnes had been ­Whelan's only customer for the past 25 years, but relations soured when the supplier claimed that a severe squeeze on trading terms threatened to put it out of business. In response, Dunnes announced the immediate cancellation of all contracts.

Whelan's took court action, seeking 12 months' notice of the cancellation. Prior to the hearing, both parties spent three days in negotiations. Reporting to court, counsel for Whelan's said the case had been settled. However, counsel for Dunnes reported the contrary. Whelan's later announced that it would start fresh proceedings aimed at enforcing the settlement.