Niyamath Parveez

Being one of the biggest companies in the world means that a firm can withstand some bad news and negative bubbles from time to time but there still has to be some management of the situations faced. Around the world, the fact that a number of Coca Cola employees in the North of Ireland are facing losing their jobs is hardly going to rock the company around the world but the personal loss on individuals, families and communities in the local region is going to be huge. Of course, this is going to be balanced out by the fact that another area will benefit and prosper from the number of jobs that are being brought to their area through the benefits of outsourcing. There is always a flip side to decisions taken and the anger and resentment that is currently brewing will be balanced out by the happiness that will follow the new jobs. However, this will be of no comfort to the people who are currently facing losing their job.

This has led to the local Labor council in the North of Ireland making recommendation that Coca Cola should at least offer redundancy packages alongside the level of previous packages they offered. From the company’s point of view, they would argue that the reason behind the outsourcing decision is an economic one and if they acted upon this recommendation, their benefits would be less than projected. It is still likely that this money would be a drop in the ocean compared to the overall turnover that the Coca Cola company experiences but the best firms are always thinking about the bottom line, even if it is not a popular move for some people. It is likely that Coca Cola sales will drop in the local area where the people affected by this move will switch their allegiances to Pepsi. This move is not going to be enough to alter the axis between Coca Cola and Pepsi sales figures but it is a way for a small community to exert some influence.

The current situation in the North of Ireland has been exacerbated by the fact that 130 or so workers have taken strike action in their dispute against the Coca Cola Company and when this happens, it very rarely ends well for the striking staff. French employees have a strong history of taking strong and powerful industrial action but in Ireland and the UK, the same success rate has never been achieved. This does not bode well for the future of the plant with Coca Cola likely to cite the time lost in the past month as reason to not offer the same redundancy packages as previous former Coca Cola employees received. It is a harsh environment and both parties will be claiming that they are in the right but it is likely that nothing will deter Coca Cola from outsourcing their work abroad to reap the benefits of lower labor costs. They may be one of the biggest firms in the world but even Coca Cola are not averse to making as much profit as possible.