Employees at the Waterford facility of Garrett Advancing Motion were shocked last week when they learned that the company is to seek 36 voluntary redundancies in the New Year.
With the news coming so close to Christmas, fears are building there may soon be more layoffs to come. Just a number of months ago, around 12 workers at the company took voluntary redundancy due to what was believed to be a downturn in business.
The factory is based at the IDA Industrial Estate on Cork Road, Waterford.
A source explained to The Munster Express that management held a meeting with staff recently, during which they could not guarantee the Waterford branch would be operational by the end of 2026. The source confirmed that there were 112 people currently working on the factory floor, with many of them having served the company for decades.
Garrett Advancing Motion is a multi-national company that manufactures turbo chargers and hybrid technologies. The company has a global team of around 9,000, with a 2024 revenue of €3.5 billion. The Garret company is made up of manufacturing facilities, R&D Centres, aftermarket centres, and engineering centre. The Waterford branch of Garret, located in the IDA industrial park on the Cork Road, was a manufacturing facility.
In response to the news Waterford’s Sinn Féin TD’s called on Garrett Advancing Motion to clarify their position.
In a joint statement, Deputies David Cullinane and Conor McGuinness said: “We are deeply concerned by reports of a significant number of voluntary redundancies being sought at Garrett Advancing Motion in Waterford. This news will cause real distress and uncertainty for workers and their families, particularly in the run-up to Christmas.
“Garrett has been a major employer in Waterford for decades, with many employees having given long service to the company. Any threat to jobs at the plant is a serious matter for the workforce and for the wider local economy.
“We are urging Garrett Advancing Motion to immediately clarify its position, to engage openly with staff and their representatives, and to outline what plans are in place to protect employment at the facility. Workers deserve clear answers and certainty about their future.
“We will continue to closely monitor developments and will support employees in seeking full transparency and fair treatment.”
In response to The Munster Express, Garrett Advancing Motion did clarify their position by providing the following statement: “At Garrett, we continuously evaluate the market and adapt our strategy to remain competitive and meet our commitments to customers”.
“In this context, we confirm the announcement of a voluntary redundancy plan at our Waterford facility.
“We are dedicated to supporting those affected and will comply with all local regulations throughout this process,” the company added.
The Munster Express also contacted Waterford Mayor Cllr. Seamus Ryan for comment, who had this to say on behalf of the Council: “Waterford City and County Council is concerned to hear of Garrett Advancing Motion voluntary redundancy plans”.
“The Council will be in contact with Garrett’s management team to offer what support it can and will endeavour to work with various state agencies to mitigate the impact of redundancies on the staff and to the local and regional economy,” added Mayor Ryan.
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