Government denies asking pharma giant to delay job losses until after polls

The Government has denied it asked a pharmaceutical giant which announced 200 job losses yesterday to delay the news until after the local elections.

However, it admitted yesterday it knew for “several months” that cuts were looming at Bausch + Lomb in Waterford, and said it was “engaging” with the company to try and save as many jobs as possible.

“The company’s final decision was communicated to DJEI and IDA yesterday (Wednesday),” a spokesperson for the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said. “There is no question of the announcement being delayed.”

Bausch + Lomb confirmed it is letting 200 employees go at its Waterford plant and is implementing a 20% pay cut for remaining employees and said the measures are necessary to save the facility.

Independent TD for Waterford John Halligan said earlier in the day Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton and the IDA had known “for months” about the pending redundancies but didn’t make any public statement. “It’s [because of] the local elections. That’s no way to be treating people.”

Staff at Bausch + Lomb, which employs over 1,100 people in Waterford and is the South-East’s biggest employer, were told by management at a brief meeting yesterday that “substantial cost reductions” are needed to keep the plant open.

Management have been discussing ways to cut costs “for a couple of months,” a spokesman for Bausch + Lomb said, but the current proposal was “only finalised in the last couple of days.”

Mr Bruton said his department and the IDA have proposals for “substantial financial support for a major investment in the plant by the company” to secure its future and position it for expansion if the “restructuring” plan is successful.

According to the company, wage rates are running at 30% more in Waterford than at its plant in Rochester in New York and a “consultation process” gets under way next week with unions and staff to bring costs closer to Rochester. A decision is due around June 17.

Bausch + Lomb supplies contact lenses and pharmaceutical products around the world and was bought last October by Canadian-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International in a $8.7bn deal.