Stryker confirms job losses in Cork

CORK WAS dealt a jobs blow yesterday with the announcement by an American medical devices company of the possible loss of 142 jobs over the next two years.

Stryker announced it is to consolidate its medical instruments and orthopaedic plants which are located at the IDA Industrial Estate at Carrigtwohill into one plant as part of a restructuring programme.

“As part of this consolidation, the production of certain products will be transferred to other Stryker manufacturing locations outside of Ireland, taking place in phases commencing in June 2012 and expected to be completed by March 2013.

“Stryker anticipates that up to 142 jobs will be impacted by this transfer but those employees will be given the opportunity to reskill and transfer to other suitable positions with the Stryker network in Ireland,” the company said in a statement.

Stryker, with its headquarters at Kalamazoo in Michigan, employs 700 people at the Carrigtwohill plants and a further 500 at an orthopaedics plant at Raheen Business Park in Limerick.

Management at the plants, which were set up in 1998, met with staff yesterday afternoon and briefed them on the restructuring and opportunities to retrain and reskill.

According to the company, Stryker expects 60 jobs to be created over the next four years when the Carrigtwohill facility commences manufacturing for the company’s endoscopy division.

Minister of State and local Cork East Labour TD Seán Sherlock said the announcement of the 142 job losses represented “very bad news” for Carrigtwohill and surrounding areas.

He said the priority was to get these back into the workforce as quickly as possible.

“I welcome the fact that the company has plans for 60 new jobs in the development and production of new high-end endoscopy products over the next four years and I hope that workers who are let go in the future will be reinstated at that stage,” he said.