Ireland: Irish Cement, a CRH subsidiary, intends to cut 50 jobs at its Castlemungret plant due to a decline in demand for cement. Management has opened talks with workers and unions on a restructuring programme. Irish Cement has been in production at the Limerick site since 1938.
"Management at Irish Cement has met with employees at the company's manufacturing facility at Castlemungret in County Limerick. The company advised workers and union representatives that the unprecedented deterioration in market conditions, combined with a sustained decline in the demand for cement products, have led to the need for a significant restructuring plan to be put in place at the Limerick facility," said a company spokesman.
According to the release the move follows almost five years of decline in the Irish construction industry, with activity now nearly 80% below peak levels in 2007. Currently there is little visible indication of any market improvement in the foreseeable future.
