The Government was urged yesterday to do more to address the drift in manufacturing jobs to lower-cost economies, after the unexpected decision of Japanese electronics giant NEC to close its plant in Co Meath, writes Chris Dooley, Industry and Employment Correspondent
The 350 workers at the company's semiconductors factory in Ballivor, which has been in production for 30 years, were taken aback yesterday to learn it is to close in September. They had been given no indication that the plant was in trouble.
Their shock was shared by Ministers, including local TD Noel Dempsey, who admitted he "couldn't believe it" when he received a call to tell him of the decision on Monday evening.
He said that ironically there had "always been rumours about NEC" in the past, but these had ceased in recent times because the plant was perceived to be doing well.
There was a funereal atmosphere as Mr Dempsey and other local politicians gathered outside the factory yesterday afternoon to await confirmation that Meath's second biggest employer - after Tara Mines - was closing down.
Inside the factory, workers were receiving the bad news from management. The parent company, NEC Electronics, was forecasting group losses for the fiscal year ending March 31st, and had been stepping up cost-cutting measures.
The decision to close NEC Semiconductors Ireland was one of those measures, they were told. The work currently done at the plant, which includes the manufacture of semiconductors for the automotive industry, would in future be carried out by workers in Singapore, Malaysia and China.
Company secretary Joe Carroll later told journalists that the move would enable the company to reduce its labour costs for general operatives by 75 per cent. There was simply no way the Irish plant could compete, he said.
Siptu Meath branch organiser John Regan said urgent Government measures were needed to halt the decline in manufacturing jobs. "Some new initiative needs to come from the Department of Enterprise. There needs to be more talking to and monitoring of employers to see what supports might be needed to ensure we retain quality jobs."
Mr Dempsey, however, said he understood IDA Ireland had been aware of the difficulties at the Ballivor plant and had been trying to stave off closure. But he said it was difficult to compete with economies where labour costs were a fraction of those in Ireland.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin said he was deeply disappointed at the decision to close the plant. He had arranged for Fás to conduct an immediate assessment of the skills of the workforce to arrange "whatever retraining may be necessary to help those involved find alternative employment".
An emergency meeting of Meath County Council to discuss the planned closure was held last night.
A company spokesman confirmed that the plant had made a profit of €4 million for each of the last two years. But he said it had accumulated losses of €21 million.