Energy price hikes will lead to job losses, warns IBEC

THOUSANDS of manufacturing jobs will be lost because of rising energy and wage costs, the country’s leading employer body warned last night.

IBEC claims the 8% price hike in electricity, sanctioned by the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) yesterday, will push up the cost of energy to manufacturing by up to 19%. This is at a time when wages and other costs are running well ahead of the rest of Europe.

According to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, 500 manufacturing jobs are being lost each month. In the past three years 32,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing as the multinational sector moves to lower cost locations.