TALLINN - Victor Stationery, one of Europe's largest producers of paper notebooks, has announced it was going to issue over 100 pink slips in Belfast, where it is currently based, and move its production plant jobs to Estonia.
The decision by the company, founded over a century ago by Robert McClay, has shocked leaders in the Northern Ireland city.
According to local union officials, the business faced tough competition from producers in Eastern Europe and had to decide between relocating or closing down. Though the production jobs will move to Estonia, a head office dealing primarily with administrative and information technology issues will remain in Belfast.
Victor Stationery remains the leading manufacturer of school exercise books in the United Kingdom, producing nearly 100 million annually.
Though the company has declined to comment as of yet, it has been speculated that some of its U.K. workforce could be redundant in as soon as a month.
Union leaders stated that they had been aware of the difficult conditions that Victor Stationery faced and hoped to discuss the implications of the planned relocation with management in the near future.
U.K. leaders such as senior Ulster Unionist Sir Reg Empey expressed their dismay at the announcement. "I am deeply shocked, this news has come as a surprise," he said. "As a minister I toured the factory and was impressed by both the manufacturing process and the work force. Today's development is extremely disturbing for the manufacturing sector."
Though Robin Newton, a member of the Democratic Unionist assembly, called the job losses "a big blow to East Belfast," the decision will mark a win for Estonia, a country with relatively low wages and high access to printing resources.
Moreover, the decision to move to Estonia once again shows the Baltic country's attractiveness due to its favorable tax regime. Currently there is no corporate tax in Estonia, and this has become a bone of contention for larger EU countries such as Germany and France, who tried - but failed - to establish a minimum corporate tax below which no country could lower its rates.
This week the Bloomberg news agency reported that Continental, the Germany-based manufacturer of automobile tires, was considering building a new plant in either Estonia or Brazil. The company is going to make the decision in the coming weeks, the agency said. Tires produced in the new facility will be sold in North America.