Wellman International is a wholly owned subsidiary of Indorama Ventures PCL, one of the world’s leading petrochemical producers and a leading global manufacturer of wool yarns. The broader Indorama Group is based in Bangkok, Thailand.
As the Deputy will be aware, Wellman International Ltd, Mullagh, County Cavan produces polyester staple fibres, made primarily from recycled material, and the company entered the Examinership process on 3rd June 2025. Examinership is a court-overseen process whereby a company is placed under court protection for a period of time in order to allow for the potential rescue and return to financial health of a company which may be in severe financial difficulty, but which is potentially viable.
I can confirm that my Department received a collective redundancy notification from Wellman International Limited on 6th June 2025, the details of which are for the company to disclose. However, it should be noted that Ireland has a robust suite of employment rights legislation in place to protect and support workers where collective redundancies are proposed by an employer.
My foremost concern, and that of the Government, is for the impacted employees and their families during this difficult and uncertain time.
IDA Ireland is actively engaged with the company, including meetings with the leadership team on a regular basis. IDA, in conjunction with the company, is actively exploring all avenues of opportunity for the site and impacted employees because of the company announcement.
IDA Ireland has implemented its job losses protocols which involves its established internal processes for dealing with situations of potential job losses with one of its client companies. The IDA regional team is partnering with local agencies to support impacted employees. To this end, there is an established process of coordinated engagement by support agencies at a local level to provide supports to employees in consultation with the company.
Government provides a range of supports to any employees facing job losses. The Intreo service of the Department of Social Protection can assist with income supports and relevant employment and training opportunities where needed. Our enterprise agencies will also assist where possible in helping those impacted to find alternative employment, and this support can include:
• Outplacement employment support services and potential training opportunities may be provided/facilitated by the company and/or other providers (ETBs/Skillnet, etc.) to support impacted employees.
• Provision of a detailed skills profile for the employees on the site, which with agreement can be shared with other potential site leaders that maybe recruiting. Wellman leadership have provided IDA with a full employee skills audit.
• IDA has agreed with the company and engaged with the examiner to help market the site and business across its global office network. Wellman has provided IDA with all necessary site details which can be shared with potential investors.
• IDA will provide introductions on a local level to the Department of Social Protection and Solas on social welfare services and employment support services to support impacted employees’ transition to new employment opportunities.
• IDA has engaged with its sister agency Enterprise Ireland and will connect with all relevant agencies on a regional basis to promote the site’s wider marketing.
While being very careful not to comment on the Examinership itself, as this is before our Courts, I can confirm IDA Ireland has been engaging continuously with the company for some time and working to provide all necessary supports, including meeting the Examiner. IDA has worked closely with the Irish leadership team to help improve the company’s competitive position before the company took its recent decision to follow the Examinership route. IDA Ireland and all relevant local agencies will continue to support and assist the impacted employees, as and when appropriate.
More broadly, the IDA Border Region comprises counties Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan. There are 72 IDA client companies in the Border Region, employing 10,389 people. The FDI performance in the region has been very positive over the past five years with employment among IDA clients increasing by 12%. The Border has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across Life Sciences, Engineering, International Financial Services, Content, Consumer & Business Services and Technology. In Cavan, there are 950 people currently employed across 10 IDA-supported companies.
Additionally, IDA Ireland has close working relationships with all key stakeholders across the region and is actively involved in initiatives to improve the value proposition for FDI working closely with regional stakeholders such as the Regional Skills Forum, Enterprise Ireland, Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), Local Authorities and through collaborative involvement in the North-East Regional Enterprise Plan. IDA also engages with strategic industry networks including The Fintech Corridor, BORMAC (Border Region Manufacturing Cluster), and the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence (AMTCE), all of which play a key role in fostering innovation, workforce development, and enterprise growth.
IDA’s focus over the coming years is to build on the strengths and competencies of the region with a particular focus on high value manufacturing, services, research and development opportunities across several established clusters. Emerging technology trends have and will continue to create new opportunities across the region in areas such as data analytics, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity and new approaches to working such as co-working hubs.
Regional development continues to be at the centre of IDA’s new strategy. IDA is committed to the pursuit of more balanced, compact regional development which can deliver complementary efficiency and equity gains, with the overall impact of helping to advance national development.
