Competition from low-cost economies has been blamed for the loss of 17 jobs in an engineering firm in Waterford, announced yesterday.
Frentech Engineering, a sheet metal-fabrication company, said it had no option but to shed a third of its staff because a significant portion of its traditional core business had gone overseas. The cuts will affect staff in engineering, production and administration.
The company, located in an IDA industrial estate, claims to be the largest producer in Ireland and the UK of busbar assemblies used in mainframe computers. Fás representatives were meeting some employees yesterday to discuss retraining options.