Officials at IDA Ireland have said that more technology job losses cannot be ruled out as the global economy slows, but they have sought to play down suggestions that the sector is facing a crisis.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, travels to Macroom in Co Cork today to meet the 670 staff who are to lose their jobs at the General Semiconductor plant, while Baltimore Technologies is expected to announce up to 400 job losses on Wednesday.
Baltimore, which employs 1,250 people globally, has already laid off 250 staff this year and has indicated that it will have to implement further drastic measures to ensure its survival.
Most job losses at Baltimore are likely to be in the US and UK. Most of the company's 200 staff in Ireland are expected to escape the worst of the imminent restructuring.
Ms Harney will be accompanied by officials from IDA Ireland when she visits Macroom. The membership of a task force to find new industry for the area is expected to be announced later today. The General Semiconductor plant is due to close by Christmas, with the loss of some £30 million annually to the local economy.
IDA Ireland, the State agency charged with attracting foreign investment to the Republic, has been in consultation with the major international electronics companies which have Irish operations to ascertain whether any further job losses may be on the horizon.
The high-technology sector is going through a very difficult period, and many of the major US corporations have indicated to the IDA that they do not know how their operations may be affected in the short term.
"This is not a crisis. There will always be volatility in certain business sectors. There will always be a decline in job numbers as different sectors are hit by a slowdown in the global economy", an IDA Ireland spokesman said yesterday.
Some 52,000 people are employed in the internationally owned high-technology sector in the Republic. Due to the economic slowdown, particularly in the US, 4,500 jobs have been lost here since the beginning of 2001. IDA Ireland points out that some 2,500 new jobs have been created in the same period, leaving net job losses in the sector at about 2,000.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will assist IDA Ireland and local interests in Macroom in establishing a task force to find a new industry to replace General Semiconductor.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Baltimore confirmed that a restructuring package will be announced this week when the company reports on its financial performance for the first half of 2001. The company would not disclose the extent of any job losses. Baltimore is being forced to take radical action to prevent it from running out of cash.