David DeansBBC Wales political reporter
People should not be "without hope" that jobs can be saved at a Bridgend medical supplies plant, Wales' economy minister has said.
Zimmer Biomet, which makes hip and knee replacements, said it would "cease manufacturing" at its Bridgend plant, putting 540 jobs at risk.
But Vaughan Gething said there is a six month "window" available to try to influence the company.
The plant director said last week she would "evaluate alternatives".
The minister also said he wanted to understand if the company was leaving because of barriers to trade, after the Senedd was told it was considering a site in Ireland.
Bridgend Senedd member Sarah Murphy triggered a topical question on the subject in the Welsh Parliament on Wednesday.
She said no prior warning had been given to herself or the Welsh government.
"I was deeply shocked at the nature of this announcement," she said.
The Welsh government had invested £1m over the last decade as part of a job creation scheme, she said.
Mr Gething told the Senedd the company's workforce council, local elected representatives and the Welsh government were not aware until the news broke.
"That is not what we expect for companies that are investing in Wales and have taken support in the past from the Welsh government," he said.
The minister said he is due to speak to a senior vice president from the company on Thursday.
"The reason why I don't think we should be entirely without hope is that it's a long engagement that's been announced of six months," he added.
"They also don't propose for any of the reductions in headcount to take place until next year.
"So there is a window not simply to understand what the company propose and why but to see if there are opportunities to influence the decision."
During the discussion, Ms Murphy said the company was holding discussions on whether or not to open a new factory in Ireland, with a recruitment drive in the country.
Later Mr Gething said the overwhelming majority of items produced are exported for use to Europe.
He said he did not want to get into "unhelpful speculation" of what was behind the announcement.
"We need to understand what this means for Zimmer Biomet and what this means for the products in the NHS... and whether this is a straight commercial choice, whether it's to do with barriers to trade, or whether its other reasons that lie behind that," he said.
Conservative MS for South Wales West Altaf Hussain said the news was potentially a "huge loss for our NHS".
The former orthopaedic surgeon said he had fitted "hundreds if not 1,000s" of their knee and hip implants.
Plaid Cymru's Luke Fletcher told the Senedd his father was once employed by the factory.
"The reality is that this is another potential blow for Bridgend, from Ford to this," he said.
"How can we expect young people to stay in our communities when good quality jobs aren't available?"
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