Twenty year memories: 106 redundancies sought by De Beers

AFTER weeks of speculation about impending job losses at De Beers, the South African owned diamond manufacturers in Shannon have sought 106 voluntary redundancies from their staff of 850, Shannon SIPTU branch secretary Tony Walsh confirmed this afternoon.

But it has also been learned that about 40 members of management will also be let go in the coming months bringing the total job loss to about 150.

Following a meeting with De Beers executives, Mr Walsh said that compulsory redundancies would not arise unless the company could not secure the voluntary number. He said the company had put forward a package and an early retirement scheme.

The company and union, he said, would be hoping to secure the number by way of voluntary departments.