Speculation is rife among the workers at Waterford Crystal that the company is to announce up to 400 redundancies tomorrow. There are up to 1,500 people employed at the company's two plants in Waterford.
It is rumoured that the Dungarvan plant is to close. The entire workforce is due to meet tomorrow to discuss the matter. A company spokesperson said he would not comment on speculation.
Workers at the two Waterford Crystal plants have just finished seven weeks of short-time working. The short-time was introduced to reduce costs and to allow the company to re-establish the balance between supply and demand.
Waterford Crystal is one of the oldest factories in the region and in 1987 employed 3,300 people. Less than half that figure is employed at the two plants today. A meeting between management and the workers will take place in Dungarvan in the morning and a further meeting will take place between management and workers at the Kilbarry plant in the afternoon.
A local Chamber of Commerce spokesperson in Dungarvan said that if the rumours were true it would have a devastating impact on the town.
