This is a bit of news that slipped by our notice late last month: Waterford, makers of some of the world’s most famous crystal (including the ball that drops on Times Square every New Year’s Eve), closed its main factory in the town of Waterford, Ireland, on Jan. 30 — apparently another victim of the global financial crisis.
The factory is one of Ireland’s biggest tourist attractions, receiving 300,000 visitors last year alone. No doubt some of you are right now planning Ireland trips this summer, and Waterford is on your list. Well, take it off.
The odd thing is that you wouldn’t know this by looking either at Waterford’s official tourism page, or the official page for Waterford factory tours. Neither acknowledges the closure, which the Washington Post’s travel section is reporting. It’s particularly humorous to read through the actual factory’s Web site, which goes into detail about all the things you’ll experience on a tour of the factory.
Right now the company that owns the Waterford factory is looking for someone to bail it out (isn’t everybody looking for a bailout these days?), but so far to no avail. The factory’s workers reportedly staged a sit-in protest at the news of the factory’s closing, but were nevertheless sent home.