A TOTAL of 380 jobs are to be lost at manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies in counties Waterford and Kildare, it emerged yesterday.
Trade union Unite expressed shock and disappointment at the news that Waterford Crystal is to seek a further 280 redundancies from its plant at Kilbarry on the outskirts of the city.
The union said it was bad news at a difficult time for workers and it expects a clearer picture of the plan to emerge following a meeting between the company and staff tomorrow.
Pharmaceuticals company Wyeth Medica Ireland announced it will be reducing its workforce by 100 in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
The company attributed the redundancies to a "continuing decline" in product volumes and a need to "implement greater cost efficiencies".
The job losses at Waterford Crystal will be the second batch at the company in the past year.
Some 200 out of 492 redundancies still remain to be made from those announced at the Kilbarry plant last November as part of a company restructuring plan.
The continuation of the firm's manufacturing in Waterford, which employed some 3,000 during its peak in the 1980s, seems uncertain following events over the last 12 months.
"The ink is barely dry on this and now we are faced with a reduction of jobs which would reduce manufacturing employment at one of the world's most advanced plants to less than 100," Unite regional officer Walter Cullen said.
"The announcement is the worst possible news for the people of Waterford, for local businesses, and for the whole region. It comes at the worst possible time, and workers are in a state of absolute shock."
A spokesman for Waterford Crystal last night said it is not company policy to comment on "issues or discussions" that are taking place within the company, but he confirmed "scheduled talks" were ongoing with union representatives throughout yesterday.
Mr Cullen said he expected company management to reveal fine details of the scheme to workers tomorrow, after which he said there will be a general meeting of members.
Meanwhile, Siptu last night criticised Wyeth Medica Ireland (WMI) over its decision to cut the jobs of some 150 permanent and temporary staff members. The pharmaceutical company, which employs more than 3,000 people at five different locations, is to cut jobs at its Newbridge facility from 1,300 to 1,050 by the end of 2009.
Some 150 of these redundancies were expected as part of a plan announced in 2006.
A further 50 or so temporary staff are expected not to have their contracts renewed.
"These additional headcount reductions are necessary in order to successfully protect and develop WMI's existing role as one of Wyeth's key strategic pipeline facilities," the company said in a statement last night.
"WMI informed its employees that it is committed to providing a competitive redundancy package for its affected permanent employees," it continued.
Kildare Siptu organiser Adrian Kane said he would be meeting with the company at 2pm today and that the union will "strenuously resist" any compulsory redundancies.
He said that the union was very concerned at the scale of the threatened cuts at what was a highly profitable plant.
"This is one of the most profitable companies in the country in one of the most uncompetitive industries in the world," he said.
"The Minister for Finance called for some patriotism in his Budget speech yesterday and I would like to see the same from Wyeth."
