Union representatives have pledged to fight for the jobs of 485 Waterford Crystal workers at a meeting with management this afternoon.
Waterford Wedgewood announced yesterday it was shedding 1,800 jobs worldwide, including a third of its Irish workforce, in a €90 million restructuring.
But an ATGWU spokesman told ireland.comthis afternoon the union did not believe it was a "foregone conclusion" that the jobs would go at the company's Dungarvan and Waterford city plants.
He said the union would insist at the meeting that all redundancies must be voluntary. He said they would fight for the best possible redundancy packages for the workers, some of whom had been employed in the crystal factory for over 25 years.
Angry workers emerging from a meeting with management last night said they had been offered six weeks' pay per year of service, but that this would be capped at 16 years of service.
Some threatened to picket the remaining plant at Kilbarry in Waterford city if they do not receive a better offer.
The spokesman conceded it may be very difficult for these workers to find alternative employment in the region, as their skills were extremely specialised.
He said the union would be calling on the Government to "pull out all the stops" in attracting businesses to the southeast if the 375 workers at Dungarvan and 110 in Kilbarry are left jobless.
Speaking ahead of the talks, ATGWU Regional Industrial Organiser Walter Cullen said workers have "time and time again come forward with flexible arrangements and open-minded attitudes to help the company through times of crisis" and deserved to be treated better than they had by a "cynical" management.