Wessel to close its Dublin plant with loss of 120 jobs

Electronic cabling firm Wessel Industries is closing a manufacturing unit in Dublin with the loss of 120 jobs and consolidating its Irish business in Longford.

Staff at the Finglas plant will be offered the chance to move to Longford, where Wessel employs 100 people.

Mr John Hughes, managing director of Wessel, said it was not certain how many jobs would be available in the more modern Longford factory but the number would be substantial.

"We are making a large investment in the Longford plant to make it a base for the future that can yield solid profit growth," he said.

The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, yesterday expressed her dismay at the announcement. "This is a huge blow for workers," she said, adding that finding alternative employment was a priority.

The company, which has run the Finglas plant since 1979, said the decision to close was unavoidable "due to market trading conditions, the pressure to reduce costs and to remain competitive while retaining a manufacturing presence in Ireland".

The Finglas factory first opened in 1946.

The jobs will be phased out over the year, with most people not leaving the company until September. Staff would be given help in finding alternative employment, the company said.

Wessel manufactures cabling for the energy, data and telecommunications sectors. It said the decision to close had not been taken lightly and all other options had been considered.

Wessel has already closed a smaller factory in Manchester, and Longford will now be its sole manufacturing plant handling business in the Republic, Britain and parts of continental Europe.

In a statement announcing the closure of the Finglas plant, the company said it was mindful that many of its staff had worked for the company for many years.

"We will be working with all concerned to ensure a fair redundancy package is agreed," it said.

Mr David Murphy, marketing and communications manager in Ireland for ABB, Wessel's parent company, said the company had succumbed to the same problems that have beset other manufacturing industries in the State.

"Costs are rising across the range - in insurance, raw materials, staff and logistics," said Mr Murphy. "The fact is that the cheaper economies in eastern Europe are an increasing problem for manufacturing in Ireland.

"We have been working for a while to increase efficiency but it just has not proved sufficient in the case of the Finglas plant."

Aside from jobs, equipment from the factory will be relocated to Longford, where the company hopes increases in productivity will compensate for the loss of production at Finglas.

However, Mr Murphy said ABB remained committed to Ireland, where it has six other operations employing more than 700 staff, pointing out that the group had recently recruited staff at units in Dundalk and Waterford.