|
The contract electronics and telecom equipment manufacturer said on Monday that 370 jobs in Limerick will be lost, following the company's decision to consolidate its Irish manufacturing to a single facility located in Cork. Most of the workers impacted by the plan, which is set to be completed by September, will be offered jobs in Cork and those who are unable to move cities will be offered redundancy packages.
Additionally, Flextronics said it will retain 150 jobs in Limerick and Shannon, where it has an outlet as part of its repair and reverse logistics service.
According to the IDA, the total number of Irish positions cut by the firm will not be as severe as they appear on the surface. IDA Spokesperson Colm Donlon said that when the plan is completed, Flextronics will have between 30 and 50 fewer workers in Ireland, although all manufacturing in Limerick will have ceased. Currently Flextronics has 780 employees in the Republic. The company, workers and IDA representatives are still negotiating many details of the plan.
This round of job cuts is the latest in a series by the firm over the last 18 months, including 130 voluntary redundancies announced in March, the same month in which it slashed 370 jobs and closed a plant in Tullamore, Offaly, citing difficult market conditions.
Management at Flextronics were unavailable for comment when contacted by ElectricNews.Net Monday afternoon. But in a statement, the company blamed the job cuts on "the continued weakness in the global electronics sector."
Overall however, the Singapore-based manufacturer, which employs over 70,000 globally, has seen its shares rise in recent days after maintaining its financial guidance for the current quarter. The company's stock had lost much of its value since 03 June, when it reported earnings and revenue for the first half of fiscal 2003 below expectations.
The company, which manufactus Xbox for Microsoft, expects earnings before charges of USD0.05 to USD0.08 per share for the June quarter on revenue of USD3 billion and an improvement to USD0.07 to USD0.10 on USD3.2 billion in the current quarter.
|
