The likely elimination of 470 jobs at Waterford Crystal is the latest in a long line of painful redundancies from a business that employed more than 3,200 people in its home market only 20 years ago.
If Waterford was a byword for Irish industry in hard times for the economy, the boom years have been very unkind. Once a prime player in Irish business, the company has swung from crisis to crisis in recent years as the fortunes of its illustrious brand waned. The former shining star is now a laggard.
Waterford did not have much to say in public yesterday about the job cuts, but its chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly said last month that significant reductions in manufacturing costs were required before the end of next March in a "final root and branch restructuring" of the firm.
The reality is that only time will tell whether this restructuring proves to be the final one. There have, after all, been numerous rethinks in recent years, each one founded on the premise that it would prompt a definitive recovery in Waterford's fortunes. The turnaround is a long time coming.
About 530 manufacturing workers will remain with Waterford at its headquarters in Kilbarry after the latest job cuts, their future dependent more than ever on the firm finally achieving stability after years in the doldrums. No matter what Waterford does to please the changing tastes of ever more demanding consumers, its staff will continue to face pressure from new technology, lower production costs elsewhere and currency fluctuations.
As production costs creep relentlessly upwards in Ireland, the decline of the US dollar means Waterford receives only €70 today from every $100 it receives in its most important market. The equivalent return five years ago was €100.
Waterford looks especially vulnerable considering the availability of cheaper labour abroad.
Chief executive John Foley disclosed in April that the group employs 1,300 staff in Indonesia for the same wage cost as 90 staff in Britain, itself a cheaper labour market than Ireland. "While you could be tempted to slash your wrists in this environment, what the situation does is ensure that you ruthlessly focus on the cost base of the company to ensure that, even though there are outside pressures, you control what you can control," he said then.
Waterford has a voracious appetite for cash, a mountain of debt and a recent history of serious operating losses. A €200 million fundraising round initiated in April - but still incomplete - will bring to about €815 million the money raised since 2003 through share placings, a bond issue and asset disposals.
The company's net debt in March was €412 million and its pretax loss in the year to March was €70.8 million. It expects to report positive earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation in the current fiscal year - the first for three years - but not in time for interim figures due next week.
Between them, Sir Anthony and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris have spent in the region of €250 million propping up the company. They own just over 50 per cent of Waterford's ordinary shares and 58.8 per cent of its preference shares.
Sir Anthony still talks positively about the prospects of sustaining an upward financial trend, but that will be of little consolation to those who will lose their jobs in the coming months. Those left in his employ will have to hope that Waterford, now a serial underachiever, will finally turn the corner. The clock is ticking on Sir Anthony's investment - and on the manufacturing operation in Kilbarry.
