Waterford Crystal is planning to cut as many as 470 manufacturing jobs in a new round of redundancies that will leave little more than 500 staff at its Irish headquarters, once one of the biggest industrial employers in the State.
Workers at the firm's crystal plant in Kilbarry expressed anger as managers met union officials to discuss a new cost-cutting programme, which is likely to be put into effect in the next five months. The development comes less than two years after 485 people lost their jobs when the company closed its factory at Dungarvan.
Waterford Crystal declined to provide any specific details but referred to remarks last month by its chairman, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, who said a "final" root and branch restructuring plan "must be achieved" before the end of its financial year in March.
"We advise the company that if they have plans, they should come forward and tell us what these plans are. The fact that the company has not communicated directly with the workers themselves is just unacceptable," said Walter Cullen of the trade union UNITE.
"Our members are outraged at the way the workers are learning about the proposals."
The likely redundancies follow a spate of big job losses this year at international employers such as Seagate, Intel, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, O2, Vodafone and others.
Having raised €100 million in new funds earlier this year, Waterford is finalising another fundraising exercise under which it will receive another €100 million.
The company expects to receive €50 million from an as yet unnamed international institutional investor.
While Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris will provide an additional €17 million, the provision of the remaining €33 million from other investors has not been finalised.
Workers at Kilbarry had learned of the likely job losses at a union meeting on Tuesday. At the plant yesterday, they were bemused and dismayed at the news.
"Management are not really giving us much information, you know?" said Tony Whelan, who has worked at the factory for 12 years. "We're hearing most of it from the media."
Niall Deveraux, an employee with 23 years' service, said staff had been treated badly.
"They keep saying for the last 20 years, 15 years, that they have no money," he said.
Liam Griffin, who has worked at the plant for 22 years, said: "Everyone is depressed. There's a lot of young people working here - families with mortgages. It's tough on them. We didn't think it would be as bad - what can we do but hope?"