BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Galway has been dealt another major jobs blow after around 175 production staff were let go from Boston Scientific’s manufacturing facility in the Ballybrit Industrial Estate.

Senior management delivered the shock news to staff representative groups at meetings in the plant yesterday.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to the Sentinel yesterday afternoon that consultations were taking place between management and staff representatives, and that 170 or 175 full-time and part-time jobs would be lost.

However, she said it was too early to say when the staff cuts will be implemented or the exact numbers of full-time, part-time and contract workers that will be laid off.

Staff themselves left work yesterday evening unsure as to whether their jobs were safe, and as to how and where the cuts will be implemented.

Already, figures from the Central Statistics Office show there were more than 12,100 on the Live Register in Galway City at the end of January – up by around one quarter on January 2009.

The Boston Scientific redundancies have been blamed on a drop in demand for the company’s products.

“I can confirm that a number of jobs are to go at Boston Scientific, and this is in line with current production needs,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood that redundancy packages will depend on the length of service, and will be teased out in the coming weeks with staff representatives.

The news comes less than eight months after the company announced a €90 million investment plan in Research, Development & Innovation (RDI) at the facility, with the creation of 45 ‘high-calibre engineering jobs’.

In fact, over the past two years, around €140m has been invested in the company, representing the biggest-ever industrial investment in the country.

The company specialises in producing medical devices known as ‘stents’ and is one of the biggest employers in Galway, with a workforce of around 3,000. It is Boston Scientific’s largest plant worldwide.