Wedgwood staff meetings planned

The firm also includes the Royal Doulton brand

Staff meetings are to take place at a Waterford Wedgwood factory a week after the firm went into administration.

Hundreds of people were due back at the site at Barlaston, in Stoke-on-Trent, following the Christmas shutdown.

The joint administrators for Waterford Wedgwood have been in advanced talks with US private equity firm KPS Capital Partners to buy most of the firm.

Waterford Wedgwood employs about 1,900 people in the UK, 600 of those at the Barlaston site.

Two centuries

Geoff Bagnall, from the Unity union, said he did not know what his members would be told, but added there were "many, many questions that remain unanswered".

A spokesperson for the firm said meetings were due to take place on Monday, but had no further comment to make.

The joint administrators and the receiver have said they had entered into a letter of intent with KPS Capital partners, a New York based firm.

The Irish-based business is known for its Wedgwood pottery, Royal Doulton and Waterford crystal and has been known as an iconic name in British pottery for more than two centuries.

About 800 staff are based in Waterford.

Elsewhere, the firm employs 5,800 people. Indonesia is the largest manufacturing centre, with 1,500 people working on production.

In 1987, it merged with the well-known brand Waterford Crystal to create Waterford Wedgwood.

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