Smurfit to shut Coolock, Dublin plant with loss of 140 jobs

[MichaelHennigan]

Smurfit Kappa Cartons, which manufactures folding cartons for the healthcare and hi-tech industries, today announced that it is to close its plant in Coolock, Dublin with the loss of 140 jobs.

The Company said that it has been affected by pressures currently being experienced in the Irish manufacturing sector.

Finfacts

[irishpeoplearewhingers]

Cost pressures, no doubt.

[Insider2007]

Smurfit Kappa job losses a body blow to Coolock - Bruton

Fine Gael Deputy Leader & Finance Spokesman Richard Bruton TD has described
the closure of the Smurfit Kappa plant with the loss of 140 jobs as a body
blow to Coolock, which comes in the wake of a spate of job losses in the
area.

“This is a terrible shock to the staff who have dedicated many years to the
plant. The staff and their families now face the prospect of making mortgage
repayments and covering living costs without any guaranteed source of
income.

“Coolock has been rocked by job losses in recent times including the loss of
450 jobs at Cadbury’s and 98 jobs at the C&C Tayto’s plant. Yet the various
State agencies have had limited success in finding replacement industries. I
would urge all relevant State bodies to immediately concentrate their
efforts on finding alternative employers for the area.

“Smurfit Kappa has said pressures being experienced by the manufacturing
sector are behind the closure. The outgoing Fianna Fáil/PD Government has a
dismal record in this regard, having driven up the cost of doing business in
Ireland and damaging Irish competitiveness.

“Fine Gael in Government is committed to protecting Irish competitiveness by
putting a cap on Government-imposed costs and overhauling the Regulatory
regime to bring an end to spiralling electricity and gas price increases.”

Ends

[blindjustice]

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0504/SMURFIT.html

In a statement, the company said it had been affected by cost pressures currently being experienced in the manufacturing sector.

Pattern forming anyone? Formed a long time ago.
Let the property market crash in fact help it crash - then we wont have a workforce who have to pay a fortune on a mortgage making business impossible here

[Lulu84]

Cost pressures perhaps, but the company wasn't quite in the dire straits it would have people believe. In the past couple of years it has consistantly turned over a profit, often having to turn away work.
The loss of the Proctor and Gamble jobs may have been the final nail in the coffin but the company have shown very little commitment to remaining in Ireland in the past couple of years, as shown by the closure of other Smurfit Kappa plants.
I am sure the sizable profit they will make from the sale of the 2 acre site in Coolock was also uppermost in their minds.