The news of job losses at BD Drogheda is regrettable and Government's first concern is for the impacted staff and their families.
BD has been in operation in Drogheda since 1964 and, in April 2022, separated out its Diabetes care business into a newly listed corporation – embecta. My Department understands that following a slowdown and normalisation of global volume for a product line produced at the BD Drogheda site, the company has taken the decision to "right-size" its manufacturing operations to align with future demand. This will result in a reduction of 60 positions in Drogheda between now and September 2024. However, given the length of the time to implement the job losses, the company expects natural attrition and retirements can reduce the total number of employees affected. In this regard, I understand the company is actively engaging with unions on site.
My Department was informed of these redundancies, through the IDA, on Monday 3 July and the IDA will work with the local leadership team on skills analysis and redeployment of staff in the region, where relevant. Furthermore, IDA's MedTech Department has been working closely with BD over several years to support and drive transformation and growth across all of the company’s Irish sites. Specifically in Drogheda, IDA Ireland is working with the site leadership on transformation opportunities onsite, including digitalisation and sustainability, and has engaged on state supports and opportunities to redeploy staff to other relevant companies in the region.I am also aware of 26 temporary layoffs at the BD site in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, which was announced in March of this year. This decision was taken in response to a post-pandemic shift in demand for certain product lines, with the company undertaking a global inventory management exercise to realign with current and future demand.
