Galway jobs shock as 60 posts are lost in Tuam

A jobs crisis meeting has been called in Tuam following the shock announcement that 60 redundancies are being sought at one of the Galway town’s leading employers.

Staff working at Transitions Optical in Tuam, which manufactures lenses for glasses, were informed of the devastating news at a meeting on Wednesday morning.

The redundancies will be sought in the manufacturing end with part of this process being moved to Asia. There are currently 170 people employed in the plant.

It means that employment at the company, which has been in Tuam for around two decades, will be reduced by more than one third.

It will bring Tuam unemployment total to more than 2,000 – the highest in the county outside Galway city.

Management confirmed to The Connacht Tribune that the consultation process will commence with the staff very soon.

Transitions in Tuam was purchased last year by SLR Optics which is basically a larger company involved in the same business of manufacturing lenses, mainly for opticians.

Galway East TD Paul Connaughton said it was shocking news and has called a job crisis meeting in Tuam – demanding that the IDA be present.

A statement from Transitions confirmed that staff were informed that the company needed to reduce manufacturing volumes immediately.

“We have looked at this every way we can and we have little option,” explained Kevin Minton, Plant Director.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.