Full Letter To Taoiseach

From: quinngroup@outlook.com
To: enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie; taoiseach@gov.ie
CC: minister@finance.gov.ie; michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie; eamon.gilmore@oir.ie; eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie;richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie; wcu@hsa.ie; minister@environ.ie; peter.robinson@mla.niassembly.gov.uk; bekarobinson@dup.org.uk;martin.mcguiness@sinn-fein.ie; brid_curran@hotmail.com; webmaster@dhsspsni.gov.uk; information@detini.gov.uk;enquiries@doeni.gov.uk
Subject: Quinn Group
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:05:25 +0100

Dear Taoiseach,

As long serving employees of the Quinn Group, we are familiar with all parts of the business and wish to outline, specifically to you, what we believe to be the precarious position in which the Group currently finds itself.

Based on the presentation last week announcing the 2012 results we are convinced that some members of the board recognise that their time is limited and to put it bluntly that the company is destined for failure. The 2012 results were designed to keep the financiers happy in the short-term. The results presented concentrate on an improved cash position but without stating where the cash came from. We believe this cash is as a result of a reduction in stocks, reduction in spare parts, no plant maintenance, asset sales and no replenishment of raw materials. The very basis for the previous success of the group. The current management know that it is a full year until they have to announce their next results and that based on current trading they may not be there at that stage and they will no longer have an interest in the group – and the jobs of thousands and our communities.

We will outline why we believe this to be the case. Firstly the cash reserves for the first six months of this year reduced by 50 million and the Ebida profits fell by 20 million. Since the beginning of July things have deteriorated rapidly in the group.

Such examples include:

1. The collapse of the clinker store due to a lack of cleaning; occurring after the sacking of our health and safety manager. Since then we have begun to produce clinker again despite the fact that part of the roof is still missing; resulting in the staff being covered in dust on a daily basis. This is a huge health and safety issue which creates unsafe working conditions and may lead to compensation claims. In addition to this, the missing roof is causing the dust to travel to local farms and residences which is causing further friction and deteriorating the relationship between the group and the community.

2. Our biggest customer, Diageo, found that we had been dishonest in our dealings with them. Putting more than 20% of our glass business at risk.

3. Some of the staff have now been told they will be laid off for the winter, this is causing huge concern through the whole group of what is likely to happen to our jobs in the future.

4. There is also great concern regarding the proposal to outsource the haulage, replacing a system within the Quinn Group which has been the envy of our competitors for more than 30 years.  This business will now be removed from the group and given to third parties from outside the region with no loyalty to our communities or our staff.

5. A lack of plant maintenance has left it impossible to produce high volumes of quality product, this is now proven particularly in glass where customers are rejecting products at record and unsustainable levels. There is also a considerable amount of plant and machinery which is sitting idle due to a lack of spare parts to repair them.

These are but a few of the issues that have left us with a company workforce which is totally disillusioned.  These new processes have resulted in getting less than half the output per employee compared to what we the employees were achieving five years ago. Our sales are currently less than half of what they were five years ago, yet we are unable to deliver products on time and as a result have lost previously loyal customers due to inefficiencies, for the first time in our history.

We know that the new management will blame the staff for these failings, but we believe that would be grossly unfair considering the changes that have been made at management level, particularly the Clearant programme. This programme which cost tens of millions to integrate into the Group, meant that the number of profile changes were dramatically increased and stocks were decimated. This venture has and will continue to have a devastating impact on the success of the group, while the programme remains in place.

We acknowledge there is a likelihood that you may consider this letter to be grossly exaggerated and you may be concerned that it remains unsigned. We wholeheartedly regret that we cannot put our names to the letter because it is a fact that anybody who has criticised management over the past two and a half years have been dismissed without notice. This leaves us frustrated as to what we can do regarding our concerns over the business as we feel there is a lack of expertise at management level and in addition to this questioning any management within the group would put our jobs in jeopardy.

As employees we are also disappointed to note that the CEO is attending the office less frequently and we are concerned that this is an indication he has accepted the inevitable of foreseeable closure of the business. How otherwise could he allow two out of our three limestone quarries and our only sandstone quarry to run out of stone? We are horrified that the business has been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent and without any recognition or acknowledgement outside of the community. 

Taoiseach, everything we have outlined in this letter is true to the best of our knowledge and we know that the entire staff and community recognise the perilous position that the company and the region are now in. We are concerned that management may also be aware of this dubious position but are publicly in denial. Our biggest fear is that when the true position of the company (we believe it to be a loss of 30-40 million in the current year plus 50 million of unpaid interest, which will only worsen next year) comes to light that it may cause panic with the financiers and lead them to shutting the business without warning and destroying all of our jobs and decimating our community.

Taoiseach, these events are merely skimming the surface of what is happening within one of the biggest employers in the country, the impact of potential failure will have long seeded repercussions for families and generations to come; this failure is entirely avoidable.

We are asking you, not only as leader of our country but as someone familiar with the difficulty in creating employment in rural Ireland and particularly in the border region, to use your power to investigate the issues we have outlined above and to use your influence to avoid the catastrophe which would be the closure of this company.

Again Taoiseach we regret being unable to add our names, but we hope you can appreciate the difficult situation in which we find ourselves.

Yours sincerely,

Employees of the Quinn Group