Strike would cost Guinness £15m a week

Guinness will lose up to £15m a week if Thursday’s strike goes ahead, putting the future of the Irish brewing operation in jeopardy.

Although Guinness has refused to say how long the company could endure such massive haemorrhaging from losses in sales, a spokesman confirmed that a protracted strike would have very serious consequences for the group.

Guinness would lose £5m a week from export sales and an estimated £10m a week in domestic sales, spokesman Pat Barry said. That level of losses would quickly start to bite, he said.

"Remaining competitive is the driving force. If we lose sales and cannot meet demand then our customers will look elsewhere for product. We operate in an extremely competitive market and the ability to meet supply is crucial," he said.

After nearly nine months of talks, Guinness is pressing ahead with the planned closure of the Dundalk plant at the end of the month with the loss of 140 jobs.

As a result, the 2,000 employees of the Guinness Ireland group are due to go on strike for the first time in 30 years on Thursday.

The closure is part of a cost cutting plan.

The company last night reiterated that it was seeking discussions with both of the unions involved in the strike, SIPTU and the ATGWU, but Mr Barry said the company was not prepared to back down on the closure.