The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Mining / Quarrying Mining And Quarrying Mining Of Metal Ores 07 - Mining of metal ores
221 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
26 September 2008
Employment effect (start)
1 December 2008
Foreseen end date
30 September 2009
Description
Kilkenny based zinc mine, Galmoy Mines, is to close with the loss of 221 jobs by September 2009 - two years earlier than originally announced. Originally, the job losses were due to occur on a phased basis, as follows: the first cuts were in December 2008, when 36 employees were to be made redundant, and the job losses were then to phased across 2009 and 2010, with the mine scheduled to finally close in 2011. However, the company have now decided to bring forward the closure by two years. It is reported that a variety of factors have prompted the decision to close the mine, including rising oil prices, falling zinc prices and the fact that the remaining zinc deposits - already nearing the end of their natural lifespan - are buried too far underground to make it economically viable to extract. Galmoy Mines has operated in the area since 1996. Union representatives have called on the Government and its agencies to help the workers retrain and find alternative employment.
Sources
23 January 2009: The Irish Independent
27 September 2008: The Irish Examiner
Citation
Eurofound (2008), Galmoy Mines, Closure in Ireland, factsheet number 67142, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/67142.
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