New Ross Chairman Demands Meeting With Integer Over Temporary Shut Down

The decision to temporarily close the Integer plant in New Ross over the next few weeks has been described as "mindboggling."

The company says an inventory review at the site will necessitate the closure of the plant between July 27th and August 10th.

Staff were only informed of this closure last week and will be forced to go without pay for that period.

Councillor John Fleming is calling for a meeting between local officials and company bosses to discuss the reasons behind this closure and how it was communicated.

He says the sudden nature of this decision is hugely unfair on staff:

"You'll have young couples in there trying to start a life, like this will probably affect a mortgage application or their repayments. This is a big kick of them.

"I've friends and neighbours working there and they were mindboggled when I spoke to them over the weekend."

In a statement to South East Radio News, Integer said it is implementing a temporary operational adjustment at its New Ross facility in response to what it described as a temporary change in customer demand.

The company said it is continuing to work closely with customers while maintaining operational readiness, as it expects demand to recover.

Integer added that its New Ross facility remains a strategically important operation for the company, and said it has continued to invest in its capacity, capabilities and technology.

Councillor Fleming says there was no indication something like this was on the cards and he wants a meeting to hear what's next.

"Within the last two years, I was in there and they've expanded and built on around 80,000 square foot and it seemed like everything was booming.

"So I just want to go in there and see that this is only a temporary, once off thing and see what is happening so I will be heading in there for clarity."

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.