Nearly twice as many jobs have been lost as created in IDA Ireland-backed high-tech companies since the start of 2001.
Around 4,500 redundancies have been announced as a direct result of the present global restructuring, while it is estimated that about 2,500 jobs have been created, according to the IDA. This compares to last year when employment in the industry increased by more than 6,000 jobs.
The 4,500 job losses in IDA-sponsored companies were roughly matched by the number in indigenous Irish companies, an IDA spokesman said. These include 30 jobs lost in Baltimore Technologies this week. Other high-profile casualties among the indigenous Irish technology sector over the past year include Ebeon, Viasec, Nua and Oniva.
Practically every region in the State has been affected by the downturn in the information and communications technologies industry, with the past month being one of the blackest for job losses in recent years. August started with an announcement that computer manufacturer Gateway would close with the loss of 900 jobs. It had cut 200 jobs earlier in the year. This was followed by a spate of further high-profile closures - General Semiconductors in Macroom, Co Cork, with the loss of 670 jobs, and Tellabs in Drogheda, Co Louth, with 150 jobs lost.
"This has been a hard month and it illustrates that the international downturn is proving steeper than anticipated and that Ireland is being further affected by it. However, we are as well positioned as we could possibly be to weather it as our information and communications technology industry includes most the world's leading companies," the IDA said in a statement.
But it warned there were likely to be further downsizings and possibly even further closures here.
The Tβnaiste, Ms Harney said that while the Republic would have to suffer the consequences of the international slowdown in the electronics industry, she believed the tech sector would survive recent setbacks.
But political concern mounted yesterday about the impact that a slowing US economy will have on the Republic, after another bad day of employment news with the loss 69 jobs at the Gweedore, Co Donegal-based SMTC Manufacturing Corporation.
The Government was told to create a plan to safeguard IT jobs. Labour's spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said no effort to retain jobs, or devise a rescue package, had been attempted in any of the recent IT closures.
