B&L 'to repay £1m grant'

Bausch & Lomb is reportedly to repay the Scottish government more than £1m it received in grants when it moves its contact lens production from Livingston in Scotland.

The contact lens manufacturer has entered into a 90-day consultation period with staff, after announcing that the proposed closure was in line with plans to move production to Waterford in Ireland and the US (Optician 11.09.09).

The company received more than £3m of public funds to create jobs at the plant. Of that, £2m was awarded when it took over the facility in 1996. It received a further £1.05m in 2005, according to a report on the Edinburgh News online news service.