Sixty jobs have been created following a £2 million sterling (#3.14 million) development in Derry, it was announced yesterday. The news came as a Northern Irish company confirmed 18 jobs are to go at a factory in Strabane, Co Tyrone which makes moulds for bra cups.
The development at the Ebrington Centre in Derry's Waterside area includes a 400seat theatre, a sports arena and a bar and restaurant. The new facility was officially opened by the North's Minister for Social Development, Mr Maurice Morrow.
The job losses occurred at the Moldhall Factory in Strabane's Ballycolman Industrial Estate. A company spokesman also announced that the factory, which has a workforce of 130, would be working a four-day week for the immediate future.
"There are 60 million bras made each year in the UK in a marketplace that's worth £650 million sterling each year. But client customers are now sourcing their goods from countries like Morocco and Tunisia and further afield like Sri Lanka," the spokesman said.
"It's not that people are buying less bras. In a way it's like the shirt industry. People are still buying shirts but they're not manufactured locally. We were hoping for a new order from one of our main customers, but instead they went to Mexico. "We are working on a new product development, but unfortunately we have to make these 18 people redundant and move to a four-day week. It's a situation we'll be keeping under constant review," he said.
