New jobs blow hits Northern Ireland clothing industry
Northern Ireland’s clothing industry suffered another blow tonight when a Co Derry shirt maker announced it was shedding 65 workers.
It was the third redundancy announcement in little more than two weeks, bring the number of job losses to 450.
The high costs of home production compared to those abroad have been blamed on each occasion.
Saville Row shirts in Castledawson currently employ almost 200 people making upmarket shirts sold under their own brand and that of top London retailer Thomas Pink.
It is understood Pink has decided to transfer production of their casual shirts abroad to cut costs and have reduced their order to Saville Row by half.
Just under a fortnight ago another supplier to Thomas Pink said it was likely to close after its orders were cancelled.
TJW based in Portadown, Co Armagh, which made women’s shirts for Pink, said it would close with the loss of 70 jobs in March unless it could find replacement orders.
Again Thomas Pink decided to move production abroad.
Last week Desmond and Son, a sole supplier to Marks and Spencer, announced 315 jobs would go with the closure of two factories in Co Derry.
The company, which currently employs some 1,800 in Northern Ireland also employs 3,000 in joint ventures in Turkey, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It is moving the work abroad to save costs.
