Chip giant Intel announced swingeing job cuts and the suspension of dividend payments after US markets closed on Thursday. The chipmaker, which has been overtaken by rivals, said it will cut 15 per cent of staff numbers - a figure that would mean as many as 735 job losses in Ireland if applied uniformly across the board. The higher than expected job cuts came as the chipmaker announced results that failed to meet even reduced expectations and an outlook that also surprised on the low side.
The US tech giant was not the only company with bad news. Aer Lingus says the industrial action by its pilots has cost it at least €55 million even before assessing any impact on future seat sales. As it reported a 25 per cent fall in profit in the three months to the end of June, chief executive Lynne Embleton announced a review “of the weaker parts of the airline’s network and its cost base”. Barry O’Halloran reports.
Brittas Bay links course, The European Club, is on the market with a price tag of €35 million, writes Jessica Doyle. The course is considered one of the finest across Ireland and Rory McIlroy and Pádraig Harrington, who both won national chamipionships there, are just two of the storied golfers whom owners Bernardine and Pat Ruddy have hosted over the years. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas were among the most recent stars to play the course last week after the Open in Troon.
Electric vehicle sales have dropped back to 2022 levels, motoring editor Michael McAleer writes as the Society of the Irish Motor Industry published disappointing first figures for the 242 registration period. Sales overall were 5.9 per cent weaker than last year but it was the EV falloff that caught the eye.
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One company with better news was PTSB which reported a trebling of its profits and a slight rebound in mortgage market share in first half figures. Joe Brennan, who crunched the numbers, reports that lower bad loan provisions and a smaller exceptional charge also helped.
Plans by builder Glenveagh to construct 135 apartments in a scheme opponents said was too close to Howth Castle to be allowed have failed to get permission from Fingal County Council for the €60 million scheme, writes Gordon Deegan.
Gordon also has details of plans for a data centre campus close to Naas that, developers say, will not be reliant on the national grid for energy.
Elsewhere, households will face a €3.23 monthly increase in electricity bills from October under a levy to support the development of renewable energy. The public service obligation is set each year by the utilities regulator depending on prices in wholesale markets. Given high prices last year, the levy this year has been zero.
The budget remains a constant focus and, in Smart Money, Cliff Taylor reminds us that while income tax and USC - where the average household pays €19,000 - tend to get the most attention, the combined impact of VAT and excise duties averages over €15,500 per household. Changes her could have a real impact.
So decisions on VAT and excise are a vital part of the budget day mix and really matter for household spending power.
In Agenda, Ian Curran heads off the beaten track in Clare to meet the US-based Irishman now heading up a $4 billion medical diagnostics company with a strong attachment to staying off the media radar.
We also profile four more of the contenders for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award , this time in the Established Business category.
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