Bausch and Lomb Waterford: Products, Jobs & €90M Investment

There’s a good chance the contact lenses you’re wearing today were made in Waterford, Ireland. Bausch + Lomb has been manufacturing there since 1980, and a €90 million investment in 2021 is transforming the plant into a hub for high-tech lens production and European R&D.

Employees in Waterford (approx): 1,000 ·
Investment announced (2021): €90 million ·
New jobs planned: 130 ·
Year plant opened: 1980

Four key facts about the Bausch + Lomb Waterford plant:

What do Bausch and Lomb make in Waterford?

Contact lenses and lens care products

• Biotrue ONEday contact lenses — the primary product line expanded with the 2021 investment (RTÉ)
• Lens care solutions (cleaning and storage liquids) (Bausch + Lomb official product page)
• Daily disposable lenses manufactured using automated, AI-driven processes

Intraocular lenses and pharmaceutical R&D

• Intraocular lenses (IOLs) for cataract surgery (Bausch + Lomb official product page)
• Pharmaceutical R&D for eye drop formulations and other ophthalmic drugs (Government of Ireland)
• European R&D hub supporting clinical trials and product innovation

Role in global supply chain

• Waterford is Bausch + Lomb’s largest European manufacturing site (Department of Enterprise)
• Products made here are exported to dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
• The facility supplies both the company’s own brands and private-label partners

The implication: Waterford is no longer just a contact lens plant. It’s a multi-function complex that combines high-volume manufacturing with advanced R&D, giving Bausch + Lomb a strategic foothold in the European eye health market.

How many people work at Bausch and Lomb Waterford?

Current workforce size

• Approximately 1,000 employees as of 2024 (the company reported over 1,500 in 2021, but numbers have since adjusted) (RTÉ)
• Roles include engineers, chemists, manufacturing technicians, quality assurance staff, and supply chain managers
• Contingent workers (contractors) also active on site

Recent hiring and job growth

• 130 new permanent jobs announced in 2021 (Department of Enterprise)
• 150 construction jobs during the expansion phase (Department of Enterprise)
• Recruitment began in 2022 and continues for specialised roles

What this means: the Waterford plant is in a growth phase. The new roles are concentrated in high-skilled areas — engineering, quality, and operations — reflecting the advanced manufacturing technology being installed.

Is Bausch and Lomb still in business?

Company history and ownership changes

• Founded in 1853 in Rochester, New York (Wikipedia)
• Acquired by Valeant Pharmaceuticals (later Bausch Health) in 2013
• Spun off as an independent public company in May 2022, listed on NYSE under BLCO (Government of Ireland)
• Waterford facility has remained operational throughout all ownership changes

Current global operations

• Bausch + Lomb is a leading global eye health company with products sold in over 100 countries (Bausch + Lomb official about page)
• Manufacturing plants in the U.S. (Rochester, NY), Ireland (Waterford), China, and Japan
• Revenue of approximately $4 billion in 2023
• Investing heavily in AI and automation to modernise lens production (Silicon Republic)

The catch: despite a rocky period under Bausch Health’s debt burden, the Waterford investment shows Bausch + Lomb is betting on manufacturing innovation — and Ireland — for its future growth.

Timeline

From a single factory to a European powerhouse, here’s the key chronology:

• 1980 — Bausch + Lomb opens contact lens manufacturing plant in Waterford
• 2016 — Plant installs a combined heat and power (CHP) system to improve energy efficiency
• 2021 — €90 million expansion announced, creating 130 jobs and increasing capacity for Biotrue ONEday lenses (Department of Enterprise)
• 2022 — Bausch + Lomb becomes an independent publicly traded company (NYSE: BLCO) (Wikipedia)
• 2023–2024 — Construction completed; new production lines start manufacturing; hiring continues for roles in engineering, quality, and operations (Silicon Republic)

Clarity: what’s confirmed and what’s not

Quotes from company and government leaders

The investment will create 100 new jobs at the Waterford facility, further strengthening the plant’s position in supporting our global contact lens business.

Mark Hennessy, Site Lead, Bausch + Lomb Waterford (Government of Ireland)

We welcome this investment which will create an additional 100 jobs in Waterford and further enhance Ireland’s reputation as a global hub for medical technology manufacturing.

Martin Shanahan, CEO, IDA Ireland (Government of Ireland)

Summary

Bausch + Lomb’s Waterford plant is no longer just a contact lens factory. The 2021 investment has turned it into a multi-function complex that combines high-volume production, AI-driven manufacturing, and European R&D. For job seekers in Ireland, the expansion means more skilled roles in engineering and quality. For the global eye health market, it means a faster pipeline of innovative products. The single factory that opened in 1980 has become a strategic asset — one that Bausch + Lomb is betting big on. The Irish government now faces a choice: continue supporting medical technology investments like this, or risk losing the next wave to lower-cost jurisdictions.

Frequently asked questions