The Glen Dimplex electrical group has announced a reorganisation plan for its operations across the island of Ireland, which will see up to 300 net redundancies between late 2024 and 2026 and the closure of two of its sites.
However, the company said it plans to invest €40m in its manufacturing, R&D activity and new sales and distribution facilities on the island of Ireland, which will see its workforce grow by 20% to 1,000 within the next five years.
Glen Dimplex said that while overall employment will increase by 200 roles by 2029, there will be job losses in the short to medium term.
800 people are currently employed by Glen Dimplex – with 400 located in the Republic of Ireland, mostly in Dunleer, Co Louth, and the other 400 in Northern Ireland.
A spokesperson said that “subject to the outcome of a staff consultation process, up to 300 net redundancies are expected between late 2024 and 2026”.
Approximately two thirds of these job losses will be in Northern Ireland and one third will be in the Republic of Ireland.
Similarly, the spokesperson said, that the new jobs created by 2029 will be two thirds based in Northern Ireland, and one third in the Republic.
The spokesperson said that redundancies are not expected for at least six months.
“Glen Dimplex will now start a consultation process with staff regarding its proposals,” the spokesperson added.
The group currently has manufacturing locations in Newry and Portadown in Northern Ireland, as well as two sites in Dunleer in Co Louth and a sales and distribution operation in Cloghran, near Dublin Airport, which is co-located with its head office.
The Naughton family-owned company said its operations on the island of Ireland will be consolidated from five sites to three, with the closure of its Portadown site slated for next year.
Under its plan, Glen Dimplex will relocate its distribution arm, Glen Dimplex Ireland, from Cloghran to Dunleer, over the next two years, while it also plans to relocate its head office in Cloghran to another Dublin location with a more sustainable footprint.
The company plans to invest over €15m in the Dunleer operations, which will result in consolidation from two sites (Barn Road and Ardee Road) to one multi-purpose facility at Ardee Road.
It also said it will transfer the manufacturing of flame products from Dunleer to a long term partner in China.
“Overall group employment in Dunleer is expected to be materially higher by 2029 as a result of redeployment from Cloghran and continuing growth in GDI. There will be some headcount reduction in Dunleer in late 2024,” the company stated.
Glen Dimplex also said it will invest around €25m in its Newry site which will be repurposed into a centre of excellence for the manufacture of zero carbon, renewable heating solutions, including heat pumps.
Panel and storage heating manufacturing will transfer from its sites in Newry and Portadown to its existing manufacturing site in Lithuania. The Portadown site will close, most likely in 2025, with some staff redeploying to Newry whose operations will also evolve significantly.
The company said today that total employment is expected to increase by 20% to over 1,000 staff within five years. Today Glen Dimplex employs over 8,000 people globally.
A €10m investment is also planned for Lithuania to leverage existing manufacturing capacity and become a centre of excellence for storage heating and panel heaters.
“This complex but critical transition will require a mix of retraining, redeployment, redundancies and new hires over the next five years, following which total headcount on the island of Ireland will have increased from 800 today, to over 1,000 staff,” the company said.
It said that employees were briefed today about the proposed reorganisation and investment programme that will be implemented on a phased basis from late 2024 up to 2026.
There will be no redundancies as part of the planned reorganisation of operations for at least six months, it added.
Management will work with employee representatives, union groups and training agencies to ensure the planned transitions are as seamless as possible, and that appropriate outplacement and training supports are provided.
Fergal Leamy, the Glen Dimplex Group CEO, said that by signalling these proposed changes significantly in advance of proposed implementation the company aims to mitigate the impact on staff and minimise redundancies through training and redeployment.
Staff will also be offered the opportunity to apply for hundreds of new roles that will be created over the coming years.
“Our proposed €50m investment will reorientate our operations on this island so that they are environmentally and economically sustainable and a major driving force in the next chapter of growth at Glen Dimplex,” the CEO said.
“Our transition will bring significant change and challenge in the near term but also phenomenal opportunities for the next generation and beyond. One thing is clear; the status quo is not an option as consumer demand and public policy chart course for zero carbon future,” he added.
