Management and staff representatives at the Becton Dickinson (BD) plant in Drogheda reached agreement in December last year on redundancy terms after more than five months of negotiations which followed the announcement the facility was to close.
The final deal, secured at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), provided staff with six weeks of pay per year of service capped at two years’ pay in addition to their statutory entitlements. The deal also included service recognition payments of €3,000 per year for those working for the company for more than 17.33 years as well as payments to cover the loss of benefits like health insurance and orderly wind down payments linked to productivity.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Andrea Cleere, said: “The acceptance by our members of these redundancy terms brought clarity concerning the conclusion of their employment with Becton Dickinson and will now allow them to plan for their future.”
Almost 200 people worked at the Drogheda plant which opened in 1964. The decision to close it was taken by the company after an international supply chain review. 110 workers will end their employment by June 2025 (approx. 80 in March and 30 in June) with the rest staying on until the scheduled closure in September 2026. The medical devices multinational continues to operate other facilities at Enniscorthy, Limerick and Blackrock in Dublin.