Over 200 jobs to go at healthcare manufacturing plant

More than 200 jobs are to go at a healthcare manufacturing plant in Tipperary thanks to an “adjustment” in operations to put a focus on “innovative” medical devices.

Staff at Abbott in Clonmel were told yesterday the company was seeking about 200 redundancies in its vascular manufacturing facility, while “a few dozen” contractor positions won’t be renewed at the end of March.

Abbott employs more than 1,400 people at its Clonmel site and the redundancies will follow a 30-day “consultation period” with employees. In a statement, the company said it hoped to achieve the redundancies on a “voluntary” basis.

“The proposed redundancies are part of adjustments we are making to meet the evolving needs of the business and to remain competitive in a challenging global environment. The facility remains strategically important to Abbott’s global vascular manufacturing network,” it read.

The Clonmel site is to focus primarily on the manufacture of newer, advanced medication devices “going forward,” according to the company, which incorporates a drug and device combination such as Absorb, which has been developed by Abbott for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

“Capital investment will be made at the site this year to enable it to manufacture these innovative medical technologies,” the company said.

“We regret the impact of this adjustment on our employees in Clonmel and the wider community, and our focus is on supporting our impacted employees. Favourable redundancy terms and outplacement services will be provided to affected employees.”

The shock news was raised last night in the Dáil by independent TD Séamus Healy, who pointed out that the area had suffered other job blows recently with the closure of Kickham Barracks, St Michael’s psychiatric unit, and a number of small employers around Clonmel and south Tipperary.

“I have asked [Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton] to establish a task force to prioritise south Tipperary because of the huge job losses that have taken place recently,” he said.

Fine Gael TD Tom Hayes described the Abbott announcement as “extremely regrettable” and said his thoughts were with the staff “at this difficult time”.

He said the Government was “working diligently” to stem the flow of unemployment.

“We are starting to see that the plan is working. Last year, we recorded an increase in employment in the private sector for the first time in four years,” he said.

Clonmel had taken “the brunt” of Abbott’s restructuring plan, he said, as it was the only one of the company’s 11 Irish sites to be affected.

“News that 200 jobs are to go at Abbott will come as a big shock to workers and to the wider Clonmel community,” Mr Hayes said.

At the moment, Abbott’s Clonmel plant manufactures a range of vascular devices for global markets which are used in the treatment of vessel diseases of the heart and peripheral blood vessels.

The company employs more than 3,200 people in this country.

A global healthcare company, it employs approximately 70,000 people.

It has eight manufacturing sites with commercial operations in Dublin and Westport and makes diabetes products in Donegal, nutrition in Cootehill and Sligo, diagnostics in Longford and Sligo and vascular devices in Clonmel.