3Com, a computer networking company which established its European hub in Dublin, yesterday announced heavier-than-expected losses and said it had made 1,000 more staff redundant. It posted a net loss of $232.4 million (€250.6 million), or 67 cents a share, for the quarter ended August 1st - compared with a year-earlier loss of $59.2 million, or 17 cents a share.

It also confirmed that it had shed 1,000 more staff than it had previously announced. The company has now halved its workforce to just 6,000 workers within a year. However, the company's 1,000 staff in Dublin have not been significantly hit by the reductions. The firm confirmed yesterday it was consolidating in Dublin existing manufacturing operations in California and Singapore. A spokesman said this would not result in the creation of any extra jobs in Dublin.