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Dundalk Halifax branch closing with loss of 140 jobs and brewery to make 40 redundant
WORKERS in the Halifax Dundalk branch, along with employees of the Great Northern Brewery have been left reeling after the companies announced further job losses in a dark day for Dundalk businesses.
At 3pm on Tuesday, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) announced plans to withdraw Halifax's services from the banking sector in Ireland, a decision which will leave around 140 workers unemployed in Dundalk.
By July of this year, the customer support centre in the Xerox estate, employing around 130 members of staff, most of who are full-time employees will be closed along with its branch at the Longwalk Shopping Centre.
One Dundalk worker said it was "devastating news for Dundalk" and for the staff as many of the people employed there are couples, who have mortgages to pay and families to support.
In a statement from the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) group, it said that it will still "maintain a strong presence in the corporate and commercial banking markets in Ireland."
However, commencing in late May 2010, 44 retail branches around the country, including the Dundalk centre will be closed, leaving a total of 750 people unemployed.
The statement said: "The withdrawal of Halifax retail products for new business is effective from today. No redundancies are planned to take place within the next three months and the majority are planned to take place from end-May to July this year."
Most staff at branches were relieved at 3pm today as the announcement, which came via a conference call, shook them to the core.
One Dundalk woman, who is employed for Halifax said the news came as a shock.
She said: "There was a conference call today at 3pm and they hit us with the news. They told us that they are closing every branch and the call centre in Dundalk.
"They are still talking about redundancies, but the operations will all be gone by July and then we will all have to find new jobs."
Unite union spokesman Robert Harnett added that it was a "huge blow to Dundalk and the individuals concerned."
Across town, there was further bad news as 22 Diageo employees were informed that they are going to be made redundant at the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk between now and next March.
According to a brewery employee, the "real" number of job losses is closer to 40 when non-Diageo employees who work at the plant are taken into account.
"There was a secret meeting held and a vote was taken on the 9th of January this year. Forklift drivers and brewery personnel are going because the keg plant is closing next August or September," he said.
"People are a bit downhearted. Some of the boys who are getting early retirement are happy-ish but others feel that they are being pushed out.
“The younger fellas are delighted to still have jobs even if it’s only for a while longer but at least it offers them some financial security for the time being.”
After the voluntary redundancies take effect by the end of March between 60 and 70 employees will remain working at the Great Northern Brewery.
“We are facing a change of work practices and we are being asked to do extra hours for the same pay so it is effectively a pay-cut,” he said.
A Diageo spokesperson told The Dundalk Democrat that she was “not aware of any non-Diageo employees” adding that the job cuts have been “achieved through a voluntary severance programme”.
“The investment programme has been put on hold and the Dundalk brewery will be kept open in the meantime. We had to look at our cost base and restructure to make sure the breweries are as cost effective and sustainable as possible,” she said.
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Weather for Dundalk
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South east
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