Delegation to meet minister over bose job losses

- Martin Shannon -

A delegation from Monaghan County Council, made up of councillors from the Carrickmacross/Castleblayney Municipal District, will travelled to Leinster House tomorrow (Tuesday) in an effort to get the decision to close Bose Corporation in Carrickmacross reversed.
They will be led by the Cathaoirleach of the Council, Padraig McNally. Monaghan County Council had called an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon of last week, at which it was unanimously agreed that all avenues be exhausted in retaining the plant and in getting this decision reversed and saving the jobs of the 140 staff affected.
It was agreed at the meeting to send the delegation to Leinster House. The group was made up of one councillor from each party and comprised of Fianna Fáil’s PJ O’Hanlon, Sinn Féin’s Colm Carthy and Fine Gael’s Aidan Campbell.

The delegation are set to meet the Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton at tea time tomorrow, while Oireachtas members from this region will meet the minister at around 2.30pm to discuss the issue.

Bose has operated in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan, since 1978. Essentially it provides final assembly for select home theatre systems for the European market. The news, which was broken to the shocked workforce last Thursday, confirmed that operations will transfer to Bose facilities in Malaysia and Mexico with the Carrickmacross plant closing in April this year.
The announcement also said Bose will close their operations in Columbia, South Carolina USA, with the loss of 300 jobs there from September 2015.