The Government was last night urged to set up a taskforce to find replacement employment for almost 150 workers who lost their jobs when American food ingredients company ADM announced yesterday that it is to close its plant at Ringaskiddy in Co Cork.
Cork Siptu No 2 Branch secretary Eddie Mullins called on Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin to move quickly to set up a taskforce to retrain staff at the plant which makes citric acid for the soft drinks and food industry.
"You have workers there who are in their mid to late 50s and the potential for them to get a job again is quite low, I would imagine, and then you have workers who have maybe two years' service and they're going to find it difficult as well," he said.
"The plant is in Minister Martin's own constituency so I would be calling on him to ensure the Government sets up a taskforce that will look at providing retraining for the workforce so that people have some chance of getting employment," said Mr Mullins.
He confirmed that staff first learned of the closure at about 2pm when he and some seven shop stewards representing Siptu, Amicus and TEEU were summoned to a meeting with ADM vice president John Ward.
Local management summoned the 146 workers to a meeting and told them of the decision to cease manufacturing and close the plant over the next six to eight weeks.
ADM managing director Brian Leahy said: "The decision to propose ceasing operations was due to intense competition in world citric acid markets in recent years.
"With these market conditions, the operation [in Ringaskiddy] is no longer economically viable for the company," he added.
Industry sources told The Irish Times that the Ringaskiddy plant suffered from cheaper competition from citric acid manufacturing plants in China which now account for some 40 per cent of the world market.
Both Mr Mullins and an ADM spokesman confirmed that negotiations will commence next Wednesday on redundancy terms for the workforce some of whom have worked at the plant since the early 1970s when it was owned by Pfizer.
ADM bought the plant in 1990 and employment is understood to have peaked at around 250 or so but industrial relations were marred in 2003 when around 80 workers were locked out by management in a dispute over new work practices.
Many of the workers who were locked out in that dispute left the company and new staff were recruited.
Mr Martin issued a statement last night in which he expressed his disappointment at the ADM announcement but pledged that the Government would do all it could to assist those made unemployed.
"Every possible support will be made available by the relevant State agencies to ensure that those affected can find alternative employment," said Mr Martin, adding that the Government only learned of the decision yesterday afternoon.
