Workers at Element 6 say they achieved record turnovers at the Shannon plant and the company’s decision to axe manufacturing was more about profits than high costs.
Union representatives are holding talks with management today to thrash out a redundancy deal for the 370 staff now facing the dole queues.
They’re adamant they won’t accept the package offered by the industrial diamond manufacturer.
Element Six Employee for 33 years Michael Corry believes the reason put forward by the company to withdraw manufacturing and distribution from Shannon is ultimately flawed and that the workers conditions have been readily adapted over the years to meet global changes.
He along with almost 400 other workers at the Shannon plant now face a very uncertain future after the multinational pulled the plug yesterday on the main stay of its operations which has been in the region for over 40 years.
The initial shock from the announcement quickly turned to anger when staff were informed of the redundancy deal on offer and the process to wind down the business
A view shared by SIPTU representative for the Element Six Workers Mary O Donnell, who says De Beers still owns 60 percent of Element Six along with Anglo American which are massive companies with huge profits