Newbridge Cutlery says it is to cease the production of silver-plated cutlery and tableware at its Co Kildare factory, blaming falling sales for the end of a craft that been in operation since 1934. <\/p>\n
The decision will mean the loss of 11 jobs at the Newbridge factory by April 10th. <\/p>\n
The broader Newbridge Silverware business, which was set up in the 1990s to make jewellery and other gifts, will continue. That includes the Newbridge Visitor Centre in Newbridge, six stand-alone stores and 250 local stockists of Newbridge Silverware. <\/p>\n
The company said it had taken the \u201cdifficult decision\u201d after a strategic review of the business, which was loss-making. Sales of the cutlery have been falling steadily, the company said. <\/p>\n
Newbridge blamed changing consumer tastes and rising costs for silver bullion for the decline of silver cutlery manufacturing. Prices for the precious metal have risen significantly \u2013 around 150 per cent in 12 months \u2013 and Newbridge said absorbing such an increase was not feasible without \u201csignificantly impacting\u201d retail pricing. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe have taken the difficult decision to cease operations at our cutlery factory from mid-April,\u201d said Martin Kilduff, operations director at the Newbridge Cutlery Company. <\/p>\n
\u201cSince 1934, we have built a long and proud history in silver cutlery and tableware manufacturing and have earned a reputation as a centre of excellence in the industry. Today\u2019s announcement reflects sustained changes in market demand, and it is with deep regret that we are ceasing operations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fully understand the impact this decision will have on those craftsmen and women who maintained the tradition of crafting silver plated tableware in Newbridge for generations. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to a meaningful consultation process and to supporting affected employees through clear communication, engagement with their representatives, and access to appropriate supports during this time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newbridge Cutlery says it is to cease the production of silver-plated cutlery and tableware at its Co Kildare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60,6906,1962],"class_list":{"0":"post-255571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-newbridge","12":"tag-work"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}