News of the loss of more than 320 jobs in the Allergan Pharmaceuticals plant in Westport, Co Mayo, was softened yesterday by company assurances that the jobs of the remaining 630 workers were "very secure".
Company managing director, Mr Colam O'Neill said the job losses were unavoidable but the prospects for the future of the firm in Westport were good and he did not rule out further recruitment in the future.
"The loss of more than 320 jobs is a severe setback but it's not all doom and gloom. Thanks to the continued growth of our pharmaceutical businesses and the selection of Westport as the location for the manufacture of future Allergan products, I am confident we will be able to ensure the success of this facility," Mr O'Neill said.
The planned reduction of the Allergan workforce by roughly one-third between now and next summer did not come as a surprise locally as redundancies had been flagged for some time due to the sale of the company's medical device business to Advanced Medical Optics (AMO).
The Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Mr Martin, said he regretted the decision of the company to reduce its workforce by such a large number. "This is a blow to Westport, the employees of Allergan and the families of those affected," Mr Martin said.
"We all feel for the difficulties of the people involved, their families and friends.
"Job losses always bring with them great uncertainty, anxiety and stress to the individuals involved and the community as a whole."
None of the voluntary redundancies being sought by the company will be required before Christmas.
According to Mr O'Neill the first redundancies will likely be sought in April next.
Early negotiations are planned between the company and SIPTU on the issue.The company is offering voluntary redundancy terms to employees and outplacement assistance, financial advice and job search training to departing employees.
Mr Martin said he and the IDA, along with other development agencies, were committed to working in partnership with local public representatives and authorities to promote and develop Westport as a location for business.
The president of Westport Chamber of Commerce, Mr James O'Doherty, said he was disappointed with the job losses but recognised there was still a lot of investment going into Allergan so the remaining jobs were secure. The company, he said, "has been a very good corporate citizen". Mr O'Doherty said work was due to start this month on a new IDA-backed €3 million 37-acre business and technology park close to the Allergan plant. Fine Gael leader and Mayo TD Mr Enda Kenny said the job losses highlighted the consequences of poor Government investment in the West and in Mayo in particular.
"Not only will these redundancies be a huge economic blow to the Westport region but lack of Government investment means it becomes much more difficult to attract replacement jobs," Mr Kenny said. Independent Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley said the job losses at Allergan highlighted the dependence on multi-national companies when indigenous industries might be a better bet in the long term.