Workers at the former Moulinex-Brandt appliances factory in Thurles, Co Tipperary, have received confirmation that they will be paid a voluntary redundancy package, ending months of uncertainty after the parent company went bankrupt.
The GMX factory at the Stradavoher Industrial Estate announced its closure with the loss of 230 jobs last April. The plant was established in 1989 and was due to continue production of kitchen appliances until next month. But events overtook it when the French parent company went bankrupt in September. Funds to be paid into a SIPTU account for voluntary redundancy payments were frozen.
However, following a "scheme of arrangement" and the sale of the factory's assets to SEB, a French rival of Moulinex-Brandt, £3.2 million has been secured for the workers and GMX's creditors, and to pay back liabilities owed to Shannon Development.
Despite facing into the new year with no jobs, workers were jubilant when the news was confirmed on Monday that they will receive five weeks' pay per year of service plus a down-payment for retraining purposes.
Ms Angela McNeill, a shop steward, said the last of the 230 staff would be working until mid-January in the clean-up of the factory, but it was a happy ending for all. "Everybody is just overwhelmed."
She said the money had been transferred into a workers' account in Thurles. "It was twice as bad when we thought we were going to get no money. It is a worry for people looking for new jobs. There is not much in Thurles. It will be a kind of black spot."
The plant manager, Mr Emile Morvan, who arrived in Thurles from France ten years ago, said he would now take early retirement and return home. "I am not really proud but at least the people will get their redundancies.
"I have enjoyed working with GMX and working with Irish people, and I want to thank everybody."
Another worker, Ms Patricia Power, called on locally-based politicians, who include the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, and the independent TD, Mr Michael Lowry, to give an impetus to the task force set up in the wake of the closure announcement.
"The big problem is getting jobs for everyone. There is nothing in Thurles," said Ms Power.
Mr Michael Leydon, Shannon Development's industrial manager for the region, said IDA Ireland and other agencies were trying to attract medium-sized enterprises to the area. The town has 1,045 signing on the Live Register, a 17 per cent increase on last year.
"It has a major advantage over other towns in that it has a workforce accustomed to working in industry." He added that it had an established third level college, the Tipperary Institute, and, with a new 20,000 sq ft technology park, was a centre for broadband connectivity. "It has a rail link with 18 trains a day going to Dublin. There is a new bypass road going in, connecting to the Cork road."
People will now be looking for a repeat of some of the success which followed the closure of the Moulinex-Brandt owned Krups factory in Limerick in 1998. That resulted in the loss of 500 jobs in Roxborough, an already marginalised part of the city.
The Limerick Enterprise Partnership (LEDP), a charitable trust, was formed comprising representatives from Shannon Development, the local authorities, the Paul Partnership and enterprise organisations. Its purpose was to attract businesses and training schemes to the warehouse building, which was purchased for £2.8 million. Two years on, the site has received £13 million in investment and 650 people are employed there. Chorus, the cable company, and Medrex, a micro-filming company, are among the private investors, but CERT, the local health board and the Brothers of Charity also have offices.