Senator Regina Doherty said she will be asking the office of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment “to see if anything can be done to save jobs” that are under threat due to Kerry Group’s restructuring plans.
The new “shared services” division, which will primarily be located in Mexico and Malaysia, will include finance, human resources and regulatory staff.
It is anticipated that up to 150 people who are currently based in Ireland will be made redundant over the next six to 12 months.
Also Read: 150 Irish jobs at risk as Kerry Group begins major restructureSeanad Leader Regina Doherty said in the Seanad last week that “it is unique that an organisation that has received so much aid and assistance from the agencies on behalf of the state would do what it is doing”.
“I will ask the office of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment [Leo Varadkar] to make contact and ensure not only that the remaining jobs are safe, but to see if anything can be done to save the jobs that may potentially go to Kuala Lumpur,” she said.
‘A company that prides itself on its Irish heritage’
Doherty was responding to concerns raised by Senator Fiona O’Loughlin, who said she was “absolutely shocked” by the Kerry Group jobs loss announcement.
“Kerry Group, as we know, is a company that prides itself on its Irish heritage; from its modest beginnings as a dairy cooperative in Kerry to how it has always stayed close to our food heritage and to its roots,” Senator O’Loughlin said.
We were all very excited a number of years ago when we heard Kerry Group was coming to Millennium Park in Naas, Co. Kildare.
“At the opening of that particular facility, the chief executive spoke about the tremendous support Kerry Group had received and that the centre would support functional and business leadership development and scalable sustainable growth right into the future.
“I was absolutely shocked to see that 150 jobs were going to go.”