70 jobs go in Mervue as crunch bites

Date Published: 17-Oct-2008

Close on 70 temporary staff at the Thermo King plant in Mervue have not had their contracts renewed since the beginning of this month.

The Galway City Tribune has learned that the lay-offs are ‘tied in’with the deferral of a number of international orders, caused by the global credit crunch.

Although the company has a number of major orders in the pipeline, some have been deferred until next year, as customers feel the pinch of the global credit squeeze. The company — world leaders in the manufacture of refrigeration units — has reduced the workforce in a number of lines at its Galway plant over the past month.

Negotiations are understood to be ‘in train’ with another 60 employees at the plant — some of them permanent workers — with a view to more lay-offs over the coming weeks.

Employees of the plant have expressed concerns over the emerging situation with ‘order deferrals’ but they are hoping that the global economic package being put together, can help to ease the overall credit situation.

The company has declined to make any comment on thejobs situation at the plant. Business sources have told the Galway City Tribune that the overall order situation is quite strong but that large international customers are having difficulty in sourcing credit.

Over the past year, …