450 Jobs in the Balance as Irish Maintenance Firm Ponders Three Takeover Offers

Sources have revealed that management will make a presentation to the board early next week to decide whether to select an interested buyer from a shortlist of three bids -- including one by former Ryanair executive Conor McCarthy.

Insiders said the "ball is now firmly in the company's court," with government agencies waiting for the meeting before they can engage with any approved investor.

It is understood that up to 112 workers were laid off by the firm yesterday -- including 28 apprentices whose training was almost complete -- following the first wave of 600 redundancies earlier this month.

The aviation maintenance firm, formerly Team Aer Lingus, had announced it would pull out of Dublin Airport for Zurich at the end of August with the total loss of 1,135 jobs.

It has refused to implement a Labour Court recommendation that it plug a EUR26m hole in the main pension scheme or double redundancy payments, claiming it did not have the funds.

Workers held protest marches to the Swiss embassy, European Commission, Dublin Airport Authority and Department of Transport over their severance terms and the company's refusal to bridge the pension deficit.

Zurich

Last Wednesday, IDA and Enterprise Ireland representatives travelled to Zurich to meet SRT management.

"They impressed upon the firm their wish to see a buyer whose interest would be in the long-term commercial viability of SRT and in retaining the maximum number of jobs in north Dublin," said a source.

The source said each of the bids was quite different, with varied interest in the four key areas of aircraft maintenance at SRT -- line maintenance, facilities maintenance, component services and base maintenance.

Unions said that 84 staff finished yesterday, as well as 28 third-year apprentices, who were unable to find another aviation employer to complete their course, despite FAS intervention.

Labour Party spokesperson on transport, Tommy Broughan, demanded that FAS facilitate the SRT apprentices and accused SRT management of a "savage breach of faith" by laying them off.

He claimed that, at a meeting with CEO Barnard Kessler, he had been led to believe the apprentices would be allowed complete their training at the facility up to August 31.

A spokesperson for the Department of Enterprise said SRT was still in negotiations with a number of interested parties.