Another one bites the dust

This time it is Waterford Wedgwood - the glassware and china manufacturer - which is entering administration 250 years after it was founded.

The firm employs 1,900 people in the UK, mainly at its manufacturing operation at Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, and at retail stores and offices. It also has 800 staff in Ireland.

Many of those manufacturing jobs are highly skilled the likes of which we may never see again. The design and manufacture of glass remains one in which individuals have to go undergo years of training and having visited the factory in Waterford a few years ago, I saw, at first hand, the experience and expertise the glassmakers had developed.

Clearly, it can be argued that this is exactly the type of creative destruction that is the hallmark of recessions and that companies that can no longer compete shoul;d be put out of their misery.

However, I remain saddened that the legacy of Josiah Wedgwood, one of the world's greatest innovators, will now be lost.

For those who are interested in hearing more about this great man's achievement and the revolutionary way in which he changed enterprise industry forever, listen to this podcast here.

Comments

Anonymous said…

Marks and Spencer are making 1000 redundant, they announced this am

January 06, 2009 8:07 am

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