IDA to assist Bausch + Lomb in upgrading systems

A pharmaceutical company which is in the process of implementing 200 job losses has announced plans to upgrade its production systems with support from the IDA.

Bausch + Lomb secured agreement last week from union members to an €18.5m cost-cutting deal which will see pay cuts, allowance cuts, bonus cuts, a new lower pay grade, extra working time, and less paid sick leave, along with 200 redundancies at its Waterford plant.

Yesterday, the company announced plans to invest in upgraded production systems. The multinational’s vice-president for manufacturing, Angelo Conti, was in Waterford to discuss the investment with management and unions.

The proposal is backed by grants from the IDA and will be used to upgrade packing and inspection systems at the contact lens manufacturing facility which currently employs more than 1,100 people at its IDA industrial park base in Waterford and is the south-east’s largest private employer.

“The cost-reduction agreement provides us with the opportunity to invest in the Waterford facility and better positions this facility to compete overall and develop into the future,” Mr Conti said.

“With upgraded systems and an appropriately aligned cost structure in place, we will be able to turn our attention to regaining a leading market share position in contact lens and continuing the strong heritage of the Bausch + Lomb brand.”

The Government came in for criticism when it emerged that it knew about the imminent job and pay cuts at Bausch + Lomb before the company made the news public on May 29.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton, who said at the time that his department and the IDA had “substantial financial support” ready to be committed to the plant if it stayed open, yesterday welcomed news of the investment.

“The process aimed at saving and then securing the long-term future of the Bausch + Lomb facility in Waterford has been going on for many months and involved a co-ordinated effort from a range of organisations and people, including the IDA, the LRC, and my department,” Mr Bruton said while on a five-day trade visit to Shanghai in China.

“Today’s announcement by Bausch + Lomb that it will invest in upgrading its production systems in its Waterford plant is the latest step in this process.”