160 Braun staff to lose jobs and 100 face transfer

BRAUN has confirmed it is to make 160 of its 260 staff in Carlow redundant with a further 100 to be transferred to Newbridge.

In a statement issued by parent company Proctor and Gamble it said the transfer will happen by the middle of next year.

The move followed a review of the Carlow plant after one the products it manufactures, its gas-powered cordless haircare business, was phased out due to a drop in consumer demand over the past few years.

It said Braun’s move was the best option for its Irish business and would ensure its long-term viability.

Meanwhile, the loss of 465 jobs at Lufthansa Technik Airmotive in Dublin appeared to have been averted last night after 10 hours of talks between the company and its unions.

The company’s owners had warned they would put workers on protective notice if staff did not implement agreed working arrangements.

Following the discussions, the two sides agreed clarifications to those arrangements and the company lifted the threat of protective notice.

Eamon Devoy of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union said: “The former assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Tom Wall is to act as facilitator to implement the agreement. In simple terms what were proving to be the most contentious elements of the agreement have been made more comprehensible and therefore more acceptable to the workforce.”

Elsewhere, strike action at the Kerry Ingredients factory has been deferred as the company and its trade unions continue to meet to discuss pay increases which workers claim they are entitled to under the Towards 2016 national wage agreement.

About 300 workers at the plant, the processing arm of the Kerry Group, had been balloted to take strike action over the issue from Sunday.

All union members were due to withdraw their labour from 10pm and place pickets at the plant on the outskirts of Listowel.

The strike would have had serious implications for farmers supplying milk to Kerry Ingredients at a time of year when milk production is high.

Talks took place yesterday under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission in a bid to resolve the dispute.

Both sides would only say the talks are ongoing.

Meanwhile, uncertainly surrounds the future of jobs at the Beru Electronics factory, in Tralee, where up to 40 jobs are believed to be on the line. Management had two meetings with the 202 workers during the week, but an official announcement has not yet been made by the company.

According to SIPTU, two production lines are being dropped at the plant in Monavalley Industrial Estate.