News

104 jobs to go at Sara Lee plant in Killarney

Friday, 21 June 2002 22:46

104 jobs are to go at the Sara Lee textile plant in Killarney in County Kerry. The company announced this lunchtime that it was being forced to cut more than half its workforce of 186 because it can no longer compete with low cost countries.

The company, which manufactures women's sports underwear, says it now intends catering to the high value-added end of the underwear market and will continue to employ 82 people at the former Pretty Polly plant in the town.

Union officials say workers are devastated by the news, not having expected the numbers to be so high.

Discussions on redundancy packages will commence on Monday and the job cuts are expected to come into effect by the end of next month.

The people of Killarney had felt that January 2000 was a watershed in more ways than one. Sara Lee began operating at a plant there and optimism grew as employment increased quickly to around 300 people.

The resumption of production at the plant was symbolic: the same factory was formerly owned by Pretty Polly and employed 850 people in the early 1990s, before going into steady decline and finally closing in 1995.

But the celebrations marking the turnaround in January 2000 have been relatively short-lived. Last November the company announced that it was cutting its workforce by 85.

Today's news comes at a bad time for Killarney, with tourism revenue also down substantially.

In addition, almost 60 temporary fitters, welders, electricians and general workers are being let go from the Liebherr crane manufacturing plant in Killarney at the end of the month.

In a separate development, the Alps electronics plant in the town, which employs 300 people, is being shut down and the workforce there is being transferred 20 miles away to Millstreet in Cork.