Tellabs has confirmed it is closing a plant in Shannon, Co Clare, with the loss of more than 400 jobs.
|
|
Tellabs: Loss of 400 jobs announced
|
The workers were told the company, one of the world market leaders in telecommunications networking equipment for phone companies, could no longer continue to operate in the face of losses blamed on the global downturn in the telecommunications market.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Ms Harney, today described it as "a very sad day for Shannon".
"Tellabs has been a major employer in Shannon for the past 13 years and news of its closure will come as a devastating blow to the region but more particularly to the employees and their families," she said.
|
A spokesman for the Irish Business and Employers Confederation said Tellabs had been a "fantastic employer" in Ireland. The closure "reminds us of the importance of maintaining a focus on keeping costs under control and protecting Ireland as an attractive location for foreign investment," he said.
Labour TD for Limerick West, Ms Jan O'Sullivan said the "bleak news" emphasised the need for the Tanaiste to develop a programme of targetted job investment in the area. She pointed out that many of the jobs lost were "relatively high positions" which, given the general downturn in the tech sector, would be hard to replace.
Tellabs has been operating in Shannon since it bought out telecommunications equipment manufacturer Delta Communications in February 1989.
The 130,000 square-foot Shannon plant houses one of the largest research-and-development centres in the country. At its height, over 750 staff were employed there, but 300 permanent and temporary staff have been laid off since April last year.
Over 200 staff lost their jobs when the Tellabs plant in Drogheda, Co Louth, closed in August last year. About 55 of the Drogheda employees were transferred to the larger plant at Shannon.
Tellabs also reduced its US workforce by 800 at plants in Texas and Minnesota last year.