245 jobs to be lost in plant restructuring plan

A PLANT in Naas, Co Kildare, is to cut 245 jobs, staff were told yesterday.

Some of the staff at Magna Donnelly Electronics have been with the firm for about 30 years.

A spokeswoman for Magna Donnelly confirmed the company, which has been in the area since 1968, was seeking 245 voluntary redundancies as part of a restructuring plan.

General manager Shane Caher confirmed €4 million would be invested at the plant to ensure continued manufacturing of high value products.

Meanwhile, more than 600 new jobs were announced in the south-east, most of which will be in the financial services sector.

“The Government have been working with the state agencies to ensure future employment growth in Wexford and I am delighted to announce some new business investments of 628 jobs for the south-east area,” said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Wexford yesterday.

They will include 250 jobs at Bisys in Waterford and 190 at PFPC in Wexford. There will also be 125 new jobs at Waters in Wexford and 63 jobs at APS Materials in Waterford.

Speaking about the job losses in Naas, SIPTU Kildare branch secretary Séamus Buggle claimed there had been no negotiations with union representatives prior to the announcement.

“There are no prospects of alternative employment for these workers and the loss of so many jobs will have a very damaging effect on the local economy.”

Magna Donnelly is one of the largest suppliers of interior mirrors to the automotive industry in Europe.

Bosses have been assessing the value of the Naas plant for several months in the face of increasing financial competition from abroad.

Under the restructuring plan, €4m will be invested at the factory to continue manufacturing of high value products. Low-cost production will move to North America and Spain, resulting in 245 job cuts. 235 staff will remain at the Naas site.

“We deeply regret that jobs will be lost as a result of this restructuring,” Mr Caher said.

Labour TD for the area Emmet Stagg said the trend of job losses in the manufacturing sector was worrying.

And he attacked company bosses for not consulting with staff ahead of the announcement.

“The least management can do now is to ensure that any redundancy package available to these employees will be as beneficial to them as possible,” he said.

Company management denied workers were kept in the dark over the cuts.

A 30-day consultation process will begin on Monday to agree on the voluntary redundancies and payment packages for those leaving the firm.

Meanwhile, the British government has agreed to back a massive investment at aerospace firm Shorts in Belfast, a move which could create up to 1,700 jobs.

Shorts’ parent company, Bombardier, has secured up to £180m (€264m) to launch new aircraft.