Contact lens manufacturer Bausch & Lomb is to place its 1,400 staff in Co Waterford on short-time working hours from next month because of the economic slowdown.
The company, which is one of the biggest employers in the south east, told workers today that production was being cut in response to a global downturn in demand for its products and as a consequence workers’ hours would have to be reduced.
Under the new arrangements, workers at plant, which is located in the IDA industrial campus in Waterford City, will have to take unpaid leave of one week per month for at least the next six months.
Trade union Siptu, which represents the workers, said the move did not come as surprise but it expressed concern “that workers and the local community in Waterford would again take the main hit for the current market problems”.
Siptu branch organiser Marie Butler said: “There are no jobs being lost and, in the current climate, this is to be welcomed”.
Ms Butler said: “The plans for short time working have been put to Siptu for discussion and we intend working with the company to make sure short time working is managed in a way that protects jobs into the future.
“Undoubtedly this decision to lay off workers will put considerable financial strain on our members and their ability to meet their commitments, and will restrict their spending in the local economy.
“In addition, it will also increase the burden on the state, through payment of job seekers allowance, and a loss of tax revenue at a time when the state purse is apparently empty,” she added.
Fine Gael Waterford Senator Paudie Coffey said: “This news will come as a crippling blow to the 1,400 workers at Bausch & Lomb who are being forced to take unpaid leave of one week per month for at least the next six months, a move which will see wages cut by 25 per cent."
“Bausch and Lomb, which is a high-tech manufacturer of contact lenses and other eye healthcare products is a major employer, not only in Waterford but in the southeast, and represents one of the biggest privet sector employers in the region.
“Furthermore it is estimated that this move will have the net effect of taking €15million out of the wider Waterford economy, impact hugely on the local community," he said.
Bausch & Lomb employs over 13,000 people worldwide and has its headquarters in Rochester, New York.
