Waterford Wedgwood Plc said 16 October 2008 it was further cutting its manufacturing operations in Ireland, adding another 280 job cuts to the 490 losses announced late 2007. The firm said it regretted the need to end large scale manufacturing at its crystal unit in Waterford but that it would continue to make a prestige crystal range in the city and maintain its tourist trail operations there. In Nov/07, the company said it was cutting 490 jobs in Waterford to cut costs. The redundancies announced mean that just 200 workers will remain on site in Waterford. Waterford Wedgwood, which owns china brands such as Wedgwood & Royal Doulton as well as Waterford Crystal, has been struggling for years to reverse a decline in demand for its luxury tableware, once a fixture on wedding gift lists worldwide.
