A Newry company who just nine months ago proposed to cut 51 jobs at its factory has now placed their substantial 56,199 sqft premises on the market for offers around £2 million.
The job losses were earmarked for Glen Electric – part of the Glen Dimplex group – based within the Greenbank Industrial Park.
The family-run firm is a manufacturing and solutions-based company working across 20 countries and employing over 8,000 people across four key sectors, according to its website.
At the time of the potential redundancies announcement, Sinn Féin MP Dáire Hughes called on management to change course.
“These proposed redundancies are devastating news for workers in Glen Electric,” said the Newry and Armagh representative.
“Working families are already struggling and the threat of redundancy is catastrophic. These job losses would be a major blow for Newry. Local staff have worked hard at the Newry site for decades and deserve much better than this.
“Glen Electric was established in Newry in 1973 and has grown, thanks to the efforts of its workers, into a major and profitable international company. Local staff worked to facilitate the transfer of products to eastern Europe on the basis that new investment in renewable energy products would follow. This did not happen and management must now change course to avoid these devastating job losses.
“The company is profitable and the Newry site is viable. Every effort must be made to avoid redundancies.
“I have been speaking to workers and their representatives and we will continue to support them at this time.”
Similarly, People Before Profit’s Newry & Armagh Representative Marc Mac Seáin condemned the move and commented: “Many at the Newry sites now fear for their job security as they see it as the beginning of the end, as it has been also announced they’re to close one its sites in Greenbank industrial estate and sell it off for profit.”
Now it appears the company have done just that.
A PropertyPal listing indicates that the Glen Dimplex factory based at Unit 5, Greenbank Industrial Estate, Ballinacraig Way is now listed for sale with offers invited around £2 million.
It is listed under the agency of CBRE NI, who described the premises as warehouse and office accommodation on a self-contained site of 4.5 acres with “potential redevelopment opportunity”.
A source informed Armagh I that several Glen Dimplex members of staff took voluntary redundancy following the company’s decision to reduce its workforce.
As such, they explain that the company appear to have consolidated all remaining staff into one Newry factory, while listing the now empty premises for sale.
And while there appear to be no “immediate concerns” among the remaining workforce, union representatives continue to assess the situation to ensure those who retained their roles have been “upskilled” and have not been temporarily repurposed to accomodate the restructuring.
Armagh I contacted Glen Dimplex for comment.
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