Minister ‘in regular talks’ on future of Wyeth in Limerick

ENTERPRISE Minister Simon Coveney says he’s in regular contact with staff, unions and management at Wyeth over the future of the firm’s plant near Askeaton in Limerick.

It comes after Nestlé, the parent company of the baby formula manufacturer announced plans to wind down its operation in west Limerick with the loss of almost 550 jobs.

The news, announced in October, has rocked the local community, given the numbers of people Wyeth employ and the number of firms reliant on the plant for an income.

Speaking on a visit to Limerick, where he announced 400 new jobs in Verizon, Mr Coveney said he would have a further meeting with staff and unions early in 2024.

He said he has been holding meetings at the plant since the closure was announced in October.

And it was confirmed the Enterprise Minister was at the Askeaton site on December 1.

“We are going to work with the company and with workers representatives there to try and ensure what is a really good piece of infrastructure in terms of the infant formula facility at Wyeth has a future,” he said.

How this future appears, Mr Coveney admits, is not yet clear.

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“But my job as minister is to protect employees and their families in terms of their incomes and so on, but also to make sure they are treated fairly by the company, and to see how government can support a future for that plant,” added the Cork TD.

He said he remains confident the vast plant does have a viable future, and that “time is on our side”, given the first job losses will not kick in until early 2025.

These will be in the research and development arm of the operation, where 40 jobs will go.

The remainder will go in 2026 once the wind-down of Wyeth is complete.

“Let’s wait and see what we can develop over that period of time. What we do have at Askeaton is a high level of manufacturing capacity with very significant investment over recent decades. I think it has a very valuable potential use in the future, and we’ll explore all these options early in the new year,” Mr Coveney pledged this Monday when in Limerick.

The shutdown of the plant has come about over what is thought to be a slump in sales of baby formula sales in China and Asia, the key export markets for Wyeth.

Nestlé said at the time the closure was announced in late October that their operations will be concentrated in mainland China, and Switzerland.