MORE THAN 150 jobs are to be shed in Cork and south Tipperary, with the bulk being lost at contract electronics manufacturer Flextronics, based at Dublin Hill, Cork.
One hundred and thirty people are to be made redundant by Flextronics, where employees voted to take voluntary redundancy after the company announced worldwide restructuring plans.
Clonmel-based drinks company Bulmers announced the loss of 23 jobs from its transport division. These are in addition to 121 redundancies announced in February.
The redundancies in Cork will come into effect from the end of the month and will be carried out on a phased basis. Ninety-five general operatives and 35 administrative staff are to be let go.
At the height of its Cork manufacturing operations, the company employed 1,100 people. Two hundred and fifty of those were let go in 2003 as a result of the loss of a major contract with another Cork-based electronics manufacturer, storage giant EMC.
It is understood that the latest cull will reduce staff numbers at the plant, located in Kilbarry Industrial Estate, to 150 staff and contract employees.
Flextronics’s sister company in Limerick announced last Friday that the 150 remaining jobs there were to go by the end of this year as the company winds down its Limerick operation.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central Noel O’Flynn said the job losses were another devastating blow for Cork.
“The loss of any job is devastating, but particularly so in these difficult times globally. I hope we can go about getting people who have lost their jobs into retraining programmes with a view to new job opportunities as soon as possible,” Mr O’Flynn said.
Labour councillor for Cork City Council’s north central area Catherine Clancy said it was imperative that those losing jobs are furnished with their financial entitlements as soon as possible.
“This is a terrible time to lose your job – the future is so uncertain. I hope that for these workers their entitlements can be rolled out as soon as possible so they don’t fall into the poverty trap in between signing on and the receipt of social welfare payments,” she said.
Flextronics declined to comment on the job losses.
The announcement by Bulmers that it is to shed a further 23 jobs is part of the company’s restructuring programme. Bulmers managing director Aidan Murphy said market performance and the economic conditions under which the business is operating have compelled the need to reduce both labour and production costs.
“We need to radically realign the costs of the company so that we can respond to market conditions and ensure that we are cost- competitive. Our costs are currently too high for the company to sustain,” he said.
Bulmers has met employee representatives and has been involved in intense talks since the February 19th announcement in relation to 121 job losses. These talks have taken place under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission.
The LRC has issued a document to both parties, on which employees will ballot over the next week.