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UNION OFFICIALS WILL hold a meeting later this week with Bose management in an attempt to convince the company to reconsider or delay the closure of its Monaghan plant.
As many as 140 jobs will be lost at the US-based audio system manufacture’s plant in Carrickmacross, which has been in operation since 1978.
Along with a facility in Columbia, South Carolina, the company is making the closures to streamline its ‘global supply chain’.
Siptu organiser Jim McVeigh said in a statement this afternoon that senior Bose managers are due to visit the Carrickmacross plant on Thursday, and will meet with the union.
“At that meeting, we will press them to reconsider the decision to close the plant or at least for an extension of several months on the proposed winding down date of this April,” he said.
The vast majority of the workforce lives in Monaghan and the closure will have a very significant negative impact on the local economy. There are over 140 people employed at this plant and SIPTU is committed to doing everything possible to protect their interests.
A group of local TDs met with Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton on the issue today, appealing for him to contact Bose management.
The Minister previously spoke with bosses from the company, and had arranged this meeting with Deputies from the area.
“I expressed my regret at the way in which this announcement was handled, in particular the lack of notice given to workers and to the enterprise Agencies,” Bruton said.
I asked the company if they would reconsider their decision or extend the period of notice that has been given to workers. Unfortunately, both options look unlikely.
This situation remains unchanged.
Minister Bruton added that the IDA and Enterprise Ireland are working to get specific projects across the line in the Cavan and Monaghan area which will deliver investment and jobs.
Bose employs around 10,500 people and has sales of €2.9 billion ($3.3 billion).
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The very sad reality is that Bose have made a decision , as the article states. Best track is to look for an alternative . Dreadful timing.
When is it not dreadful timing?
Delay a few months and ruin peoples smear holidays, a few months later it’s the costs of returning to school, after that too close to Xmas.
It’s been years coming, that industry had been in decline for ages. Instead of feigning surprise, the unions and politicians would have been better occupied finding a replacement before this happened.
Firstly I’m very sorry for the people who are losing their jobs. it’s been there since the seventies so I expect some lives are going to be really turned over.
Secondly, if memory serves its a final assembly plant – it bolts together bits from elsewhere. This demonstrates the stupidity of Ruth Coppinger’s “nationalize Dell” approach to the decline of manufacturing. Where exactly would the bits come from, where would they be sold, etc. There’s is everything to be said for a more equal society, but I’m still waiting for the far Left to come up with a credible model for wealth creation, as opposed to wealth distribution (wealth taxes, which I’m not opposed to, but they will damage capitalist wealth creation so an alternative is needed).
I disagree, not sure about Ireland but in England Bose is the go to brand for blue tooth / docking stations. The sound quality and volume is second to none.
Yes, but the price is also way above other, more than acceptable, sound systems. In saying that, when I first heard a standalone Bose cd player I was very impressed, however the price brought me back to reality
Yeah they are expensive but they’re almost like a fashion statement. I don’t own one by the way, I have a Sony which was literally half the price. I’d like one though, maybe next Xmas if I’m good :-)
Haha I wouldn’t even know Pontius, a grand for a speaker is well out of my price range but I wouldn’t doubt you.
Why aren’t they listening to the workers ?
I thought they where sound guys .
Time for the union to speaker up
If we protected workers in this country instead of corporate greed, this would not be a problem.
How so?
Protecting workers wouldn’t prevent a firm from relocating. In reality it would probably push up employment costs and make a more compelling argument for manufacturers.
Why have Germany been so successful? They protect there works by making it more expensive for companies to move jobs out of the country. It does not make it more expensive to do business in Germany, only more costly to relocate jobs out side the country. You can’t say it does not work, otherwise Germany would have collapsed in the 90′s when they relaxed trading restrictions throughout the EU.
I think you mean, ‘if Chinese workers weren’t so cheap, this wouldn’t be a problem’
It’s a problem with our government not protecting jobs here. Not with the China being cheaper. Otherwise all Audi’s BMW’s and VW’s would be made in China years ago.
So what exactly could the government do then? Bose aren’t the big player they once were and so are downsizing – how could the government protect jobs in that scenario?
And labour costs aren’t the only factor – the German automotive industry has competitive advantages due to domestic skill sets built up over decades. An Audi or BMW constructed in China would likely be worth less and would also face potentially prohibitive tariffs to the lucrative EU markets.
Not everything is the government’s fault.
Bose made a profit of $2.97 billion in 2014 according to Google.
And they’ll likely make a larger profit when the bulk of their manufacturing takes place in Malaysia and Mexico – they’re a business making a business decision. The only way to tackle that is a race to the bottom with third world nations in terms of costs – not very appealing I think you’ll agree.
The problem is they have started to run out of third world countries to exploit. Which is why we have seen our economies under attack here in Europe. The race to the bottom is holding the profits of the very few sacred above the wellbeing and dignity of the many.
Perhaps you’re right, but such issues need to be tackled on a global scale, intergovernmental congresses like the UN or the WTO maybe. One company acting in the best interests of their shareholders are certainly not responsible. It is a bad situation I agree, but I don’t think either Bose or our government are in any way responsible.
I’d say both are directly responsible. Your right, it does need tacking on a global scale but unless we can depend on our governments to act in the best interests of its people it has no chance of happening at all.
Tidy profit on revenue of $3.3B !!
Please check again ..
Siptu rep will have a wee chat passed a brown envelope and told to play it down, a few free scoops and bed in the hotel.into work next day and reports nothing can be done,but first puts in for his expenses.good days work,and members are paying for it.
I heard last night that the BOSE directors wanted to close that facility for the last number of years but the founder had an affinity towards it for some reason. He died in 2013 and evidently the directors have pulled the trigger now.
Since when do these businesses care about people or community’s, they couldn’t give a toss, all they’re interested in is profit, end off. If people were to work for free, they might reconsider.
@Michael Budd Unfortunately $2.97B revenue is not profit. It would appear that Bose are a private company so profit figures seem to be hard to come by. There is also a key difference between Bose in Ireland and Audi/BMW/VW in Germany – Those companies are all German owned and headquartered. There is not one single thing the government could have done to stop a small subsidiary of a US company shutting down a sub assembly plant in Ireland.
The other side of this is that profit is essential for a company – they have to care! That’s how new jobs get created, new products designed and new markets developed. It is also how companies attract investment to grow.
Gerry
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