Abbey staff shocked by lay-off plans

SIPTU officials are due to meet management from the Abbey Theatre today to discuss the company’s plans to lay off up to 30 workers.

The Dublin theatre confirmed yesterday that it was planning to shed one-third of its workforce due to a funding shortfall.

SIPTU said the workers were shocked by the scale of the job cuts. It said it would use this morning’s meeting to discuss ways to deal with the Abbey’s financial difficulties and was also seeking a meeting with the Government to discuss the funding shortfall at the theatre.