Crystal maker is losing its Irish accent

To aficionados, Waterford Crystal is synonymous with Ireland. But more of the company's manufacturing is being shifted to other countries. (Sean Dwyer/Bloomberg News)

DUBLIN - Audrey Hancock, a 59-year-old Californian, says she won't buy Waterford Crystal without checking whether the piece of quintessentially Irish glassware was actually made in Ireland. "When you think Waterford, you think Irish," Hancock said while shopping for souvenirs in Dublin.

But about a fifth of the vases, chandeliers, and flutes sold by Waterford Wedgwood PLC are made in the Czech Republic and Poland, not in Waterford, Ireland's self-styled "Crystal County."

And the crystal will become even less Irish. The company's cutting 500 jobs in Waterford, or half its local workforce. It once employed more than 3,000 in the city of 46,000. Waterford Wedgwood says moving more production abroad won't hurt US sales, which account for about 70 percent of revenue.

"That's not going to be an event that will change the perception of the brand," said chief executive Peter Cameron. Hancock isn't so sure. "I do think that's a problem," she said. "People associate Waterford with Ireland."

Waterford has been a crystal-making center since 1783. Waterford Wedgwood, controlled by Tony O'Reilly, a former international rugby player and ex-CEO of H.J. Heinz Co., still trades on its connection with the city.

Waterford declined to specify how many jobs would be shifted abroad.

The local tourist board promotes the area as the Crystal County, while companies including Crystal Clean, a car detailing service, play on the connection. An Afro-Caribbean grocery, Crystal Super Stores, is near the city's waterfront.

"It's part of our history," said former Waterford worker Catherine Geary, 66, whose daughter now works for the company. "I don't think any town or city wants to lose their identity."

The company says costs are too high to concentrate production in Ireland. Waterford hasn't made a profit in four years, and its stock has lost more than two-thirds of its value this year.