Vol. 510 No. 2
24 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position in relation to a factory (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21890/99]
Fruit of the Loom informed its workforce and the unions on 28 October 1999 that the company would implement a number of measures to maintain its competitiveness in the marketplace. I regret that these adjustment measures will result in the implementation of 190 redundancies in the fabric, sewing and services departments at Buncrana. These redundancies will take place in January 2000 and reflect the company's plans to align its capacity requirements with its future order book. It is intended that the redundancy terms will be as previously agreed.
On a more positive note, whereas 65% of the employees in fabric and sewing operations have been engaged on short time working, the company plans a return to full-time working for all remaining employees over the next four weeks.
Although the business will continue to react to challenges in the marketplace, no further job losses are anticipated during 2000. The effect of these measures is that the company expects that approximately 1,000 jobs will be maintained at the Buncrana plant through next year – a significant improvement on the company's earlier expectations. The company is committed, moreover, to maintaining, at a minimum, an employment level of 600 jobs at the Buncrana plant until at least the year 2006.
