Carrick Rubber Plant To Close

Scenic Carrick-on-Shannon is reeling after news that dozens of jobs have been axed.

The shock move has been revealed at a well-established factory, Woco Irish Rubber Components, which is to shut down after 32 years in the town with the loss of 41 jobs.

Cormac McCormack, the plant's General Manager, said the decision was taken by its parent company in Germany.

"It has come out of the blue for us all to be honest," he said.

The Tullyleague factory will close down at the end of next month having provided jobs for people in the Leitrim/Roscommon border town since the 1970s.

Mr McCormack said there was widespread shock among the workforce at the closure.

"The announcement was made today, it was made with regret, that the board of management of our parent company, Woco Germany, will close down production at our plant in Carrick-on-Shannon at the end of July," he said.

"The decision was taken due to increasing costs that are mainly beyond our control and a downturn in our market."

The factory makes rubber products for the automotive industry.

Frank Feighan, Fine Gael Roscommon/South Leitrim TD, said the job losses would have a devastating effect on the local community.

"This news could not come at a worse time for the 41 staff who have given loyal service to the factory since it opened in the 1970s," he said.

"They will now have to deal with mortgage repayments and the ever-rising cost of living with no guaranteed income."

Mr Feighan said the plant closure is further evidence that Ireland's decreasing competitiveness is driving jobs abroad.

"With the economy in crisis and job losses escalating, these staff now face a serious challenge to find alternative employment.

"As skilled operators, they may need retraining in order to secure another job, and I am calling on all relevant state agencies to assist them," he said, urging that Enterprise Ireland and the IDA immediately start searching for an alternative employer for the area.

Woco was founded by Franz Josef Wolf in 1956 and remains as an owner-operated family firm with its headquarters in Bad Soden-Salmünster as well as production and sales locations in over 20 countries.

Woco and its 3,000 employees achieved a turnover of about €400 million in 2007.

(BMcC)