Ray-Ban closure is `body blow' to Waterford

Almost two-thirds of staff at the Waterford plant which manufactures Ray-Ban sunglasses are to be laid off in a measure described last night as a "body blow" to the city.

The Italian company which took over the plant last year, Luxottica, said 165 of the 260 staff are to be made redundant as part of a realignment of the group's operations.

Its insistence that the move was "a declaration of faith" was greeted with scepticism in the light of previous commitments to the Waterford operation, the last as recently as November.

The shock decision led to calls for the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, and the IDA to take action over Waterford's continuing unemployment problem. The city has an unemployment rate of 14 per cent, almost three times the national average.

Mr Martin Cullen, the Waterford-based Minister of State for Finance, said the IDA would have to "redouble its efforts" to bring industry to the city. He also said he was seeking a meeting with Ms Harney on the matter.

Uncertainty had hung over the plant since November, when the company announced it was introducing short-time working until the middle of this month, when the position would be reviewed. The move followed an earlier decision to make 69 staff redundant on a voluntary basis.

In spite of this the company said at the time it remained committed to the Waterford plant. Yesterday, however, it said Waterford could not compete with the economies of scale available to Luxottica through its centralised Italian sunglass-frame manufacturing plants.

But it said Waterford could become highly competitive in the specialised area of lens edging and finishing for its range of products, which include international designer sunglasses. The 95 staff remaining will be engaged in this operation.

While the short-time working was not, in fact, implemented, workers remained concerned about what the planned mid-February review of the plant would bring. As no announcement was expected until then, yesterday's news came as a shock.

SIPTU branch secretary Ms Maria Butler said the union, which represents most of the staff concerned, was disappointed that "promises that were given have not materialised".

A local Fianna Fail TD, Mr Brendan Kenneally, said the announcement was a "body blow" and he expressed doubt about the company's long-term intentions. The main fear last night was that the company would remain in Waterford only as long as necessary to acquire the specialised skills which the workforce there currently offers. Luxottica said, however, it would be investing in extra equipment in the plant, and the quality of the work done there would "ensure its future within the group".