The Volex Group, a producer of electronic cable assemblies and electrical power cords, has announced 230 job losses at its Co Mayo plant in Castlebar.
When the partly-expected layoffs are implemented by the end of March, only 250 jobs will remain - about a third of the workforce employed a year ago. At that time, Volex had some 800 on its payroll and was one of the largest employers in the region.
Although full details have not yet emerged, those being let go by the firm are mostly involved in manufacturing.
Company management gave an assurance yesterday that the jobs of remaining workers are safe - at least in the short term.
Mr John Corcoran, managing director of Volex Europe, said that under a restructuring plan for Europe, the power cord division, based in the UK, and the telecommunications business headquarters in Ireland would be combined in one business unit, with its headquarters in Castlebar.
The capability of the site in Castlebar, established in 1987, would now shift more heavily towards business management/ business support and high technology, Mr Corcoran stated.
He added that the future of Volex in Castlebar had been confirmed, at least for the foreseeable future, by its position as European headquarters for the entire Volex business in Europe.
Jobs in the higher technology end of the business, along with those in sales, service support and the financial division are not expected to be affected. The company is also laying off 180 staff from its plant at Leigh, near Manchester.
A consultation period with employees and trade unions, lasting a minimum of 30 days, was commencing. It is expected that no members of staff will have to leave the organisation prior to the second week in February.
Some workers walked in silence from the plant following the end of their shift at 4 p.m. yesterday, and refused to talk to reporters.
There remains some confusion as to which workers will be affected. "There are no names being mentioned," one employee, Ms Fiona Goodwin, said. "Nobody knows for sure who will be actually laid off."
Many of the workers being let go are female - and most admit it will be difficult for them secure alternative employment.
"At the moment my chances of finding a job are very slight," said Ms Mary O'Brien from Swinford, who has been with with the company for two years.
The SIPTU trade union expressed dismay last night at the scale of the cutbacks and said many families would experience financial hardship because of the layoffs.
Ms Martina Weir, assistant secretary of the Mayo No. 2 branch of SIPTU, said that some redundancies had been expected - but the scale of layoffs had come as a major shock.
"Many of our members will experience financial hardship," Ms Weir stated. "The most important thing now is to sit down and negotiate a voluntary redundancy package."
A spokesperson for the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, said the announcement would come as a "severe blow" to the 230 employees involved. The spokesperson pledged that the priority for the State development agencies will be to do everything possible to find alternative employment for those now out of work.
In addition, the State training agency, FÁS, would engage with the workforce with a view to carrying out a skills audit and offering retraining where needed.
The Volex Group reported sales of €660 million and pre-tax profits of €48.6 million in the year ended March 31st, 2001. Over 10,000 people are employed at the group worldwide.
