KEY POINTS:
Luxury tableware manufacturer Waterford Wedgwood said yesterday it is cutting 1400 jobs worldwide, including nearly half of workers at its flagship Irish crystal plant, in part because of the weak US dollar.
The Dublin-based company, which has reported five years of deepening losses and debt, said it would lay off 490 of its approximately 1000 workers at the crystal factory in Waterford, southeast Ireland - and focus on developing the plant's status as a tourism magnet.
Waterford Wedgwood, which has a global work force of 8000, said it would target "manufacturing, administration, warehousing, distribution and other operations in high-cost countries."
The company is a significant employer in England, Germany, Indonesia and the United States, where it employs about 800 people in sales, marketing and distribution.
John Foley, chief executive of the Waterford Crystal division, broke the news to workers at the factory in Waterford, where the tradition of hand-cut crystal began more than two centuries ago.
Foley cited the US dollar's exceptional weakness as a key factor in slashing profits, because the United States typically accounts for half of crystal sales. Foley said a key to Waterford's future profit in Ireland would be as a tourist and shopping mecca.
The plant's production tours and crystal showroom attract 300,000 tourists a year, and plans to build "an exciting retail and tourism experience" could double the number of visitors by 2012.
- AP
