A medical devices manufacturer in Tullamore, Co Offaly will close completely by April 2026, workers were told this morning. Cardinal Health, headquartered in Ohio, US, is a distributor of pharmaceuticals and a global manufacturer and distributor of medical and laboratory products. The company intends to close the Tullamore Business and Technology Park, at the Sragh Industrial Estate, entirely by spring of 2026.
Employees at Cardinal Health were called into a meeting by management at the plant at Srah Business Park. Staff and union members were called to a meeting this morning where they were informed of the news, with SIPTU confirming that it would be entering a 30-day period of consultation with Cardinal Health. According to SIPTU industrial organiser Ashling Dunne, employees have left the premises for the remainder of the week and will return to work on Monday.
Job Losses and Redundancy Packages
The closure of the Tullamore facility will result in the loss of more than 300 jobs. One worker told the Tullamore Tribune that staff will begin leaving in March or April next year as the phasing in of the shutdown begins. Staff were told that cost pressures were the reason for the decision to end production in Tullamore and the US-owned multinational mentioned sister plants in Costa Rica and Mexico as possible alternative locations for manufacturing.
Talks on the detail of redundancy packages will begin soon and staff are to return to work on Monday. One employee said she felt management had been “very fair” this morning.
“They said we’ll get six weeks redundancy (per year of service) and the two weeks statutory. [The plant] will be phased out over 20 months,” said the worker.
Reaction to the Closure
A representative from IDA Ireland expressed their disappointment at the news, stating, “our thoughts are with those affected by the decision and we will continue to engage with the company as well as regional and national stakeholders to support those impacted and seek alternatives investment for the site”.
Fianna Fáil councillor Tony McCormack said he would be contacting Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke, TD, to ensure Cardinal Health’s employees are looked after amid job loss. “It’s a sad day for the employees as they ponder what the future might bring,” said Burke.
A representative of Cardinal Health said, “commercial activities in Ireland will not be impacted by these plans.”
“This decision is part of our regular assessment of our global business, manufacturing and supply chain operations to ensure we are able to meet the evolving needs of our customers, the industry and our business.”
Independent TD for Laois Offaly Carol Nolan has said she has made urgent representations to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke following what she describes as ‘news akin to a body blow for the town of Tullamore.’
“This is devastating news and one that demands all agencies of state to respond as part of a concerted and unified effort to save these jobs,” said Deputy Nolan.
“My heart goes out to the workers and their families at what must be a truly unnerving time.”
“Government needs to take action immediately to try and rescue whatever jobs can be rescued or supported,” concluded Deputy Nolan.
A History of Change
This is not the first time Cardinal health has had to alter their course in Ireland. In 2004 the company dropped plans to create 1,300 jobs in Longford, citing a change in strategy.
The company, originally founded as Sherwood Medical in 1982, has changed hands multiple times over the years and is now owned by an American multinational health care services company, Cardinal Health.
The medical devices plant has been considered a huge contributor to the local economy, but in 2012 some 150 employees were let go. Ahead of the meeting, SIPTU Organiser Ashling Dunne told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that the union had not been told anything by the company, adding that “this has completely come out of the blue”.
A Premonition of Closure
An employee at Cardinal Health has revealed how the working day was cut short on Wednesday just an hour before the end of a shift. The worker at the Tullamore-based medical devices manufacturer spoke to the Tullamore Tribune on condition of anonymity and said their shift began at 7.30am.
“Then at 3 o'clock we were told we're going home and come back at 10 o'clock tomorrow. I was working from 7.30 to 4 o'clock and they told us at 3 o'clock to down tools, cover everything up as if you're going on holiday and leave, and you'll get paid for the hour,” said the employee.
“The cleaners were told to down tools as well and leave... Evenings [shift workers] were told, I think by email, and night shift were told by an email not to come but they will be paid.
“We were gone. We just literally dropped tools, dropped what we were doing and left. I was leaving at 3.10pm, we were told at 3 o'clock, whatever we had to tidy up, tidy up, and we just left.
“And we're to come back in tomorrow (Thursday, August 29), we're not to enter the floors - the washroom floors - we're to come to the main entrance and stay there, we're not to enter the premises until 10 o'clock. We're to be seated at 10.20 and there's a meeting at 10.30.”
A Warning Sign for the Future?
The employee, who has worked there for about 20 years, was not taken completely by surprise by Wednesday's dramatic development.
“It was going quiet for the past 18 months. Lines being discontinued, running them out, overpacking them and then they're discontinued, magnifying the order.
“There was one day I was in there and I did four hours of work and the supervisors didn't even care if you did anything. You were there for the full shift and you were making work. They were winding down, it was just a matter of seeing how much more could they get out of this.
“You could see it coming. Whether they keep on certain lines... but my area is completely dead, we're just tipping along, there's no pressure, you don't see a supervisor, you could even see the slack in the supervision. There was a lull in supervision since Christmas.”
The worker said there is now a question mark over 400 jobs, or “pretty close to 400” and many staff are already shifting their focus to a redundancy package.
“We're all going to sit in if we don't get our redundancy. Everybody needs money so they can't just tell us there's no job and no money. They'll have to do something for us hopefully. Who knows? We'll just wait and see.
“As long as we get what we're promised. I think the agreement is six weeks [pay per year of service], so as long as we get what we're entitled to and they don't renege. We can see it coming but if they don't give us money there'll be a bigger problem I'm sure.”
The employees are members of the SIPTU trade union.
