IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 14 January
14-01-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Digicel to cut Caribbean jobs | Babcock asks for share suspension extension
The Irish Times reports that management of US-owned Seagate will meet Derry workers on Wednesday, fuelling fears of job losses, as reported by ENN.
The paper also says that Denis O'Brien's Digicel is to cut its 4,500-strong workforce in the Caribbean by 10 percent by the end of February, as part of a major cost-cutting exercise. The company informed staff on Tuesday of the move, which will involve 450 employees leaving its 23 businesses in the region as part of a voluntary "separation" programme. Digicel said the move was simply a matter of good housekeeping and was not a reflection of a downturn in the business or its subscriber base.
The paper also notes that beleaguered Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown (B&B), which controls Eircom through a listed satellite fund, has asked that its shares remain suspended from trading. The firm is still in talks with its lenders in a last-ditch effort to avoid bankruptcy. B&B said it is still waiting for a "final response" from lenders about a rescue deal. The company is discussing intricate debt-for-equity swaps with a syndicate of 25 banks in what is believed to be a final attempt to stave off collapse. Its shares have been suspended since 7 January.
The Irish Independent reports that online retailer Buy4Now posted profits of EUR2.1 million in the year ending March 2008, after selling EUR1.5 million worth of intellectual property to a subsidiary. The accounts show the profits put the operation into the black, with retained earnings of EUR617,000 on record at the end of the year compared with the retained losses of EUR1.5 million recorded at the end of 2007. Turnover rose 13 percent to EUR5.9 million, but higher costs left operating profits at EUR611,000, down from 2007's EUR791,000. The intellectual property deal helped that operating profit translate to pretax earnings of EUR2.1 million, well up on 2007's EUR802,000 result.
The paper also says that fewer than 20 percent of Irish firms are prepared for the innovation required to tackle the downturn, according to a study by the Irish Management Institute. The IMI said only 26 percent of firms analysed said they were "exploring multiple futures", with the IMI describing this as "the most important search strategy for innovation". The findings also indicate low internet usage and a low level of involvement of mainstream employees to facilitate innovation. The IMI will release the full findings of the study later this month.
The Irish Examiner says that the Government does not intend to talk with Dell management about a revised redundancy package for the staff who lost their jobs last week, according to Tanaiste Mary Coughlan. Workers are angry with the offer of six weeks' wages for every year of service along with a four-week severance payment. The payoff has a 52-week cap and does not take into account board shift and bonus payments. Speaking in Limerick, where she met a group of Dell workers, Minister Coughlan said: "This [redundancy] is now a matter of consultation over a 30-day period and this is a statutory period. The workers have indicated to me that their preferred option is to work within that process and they have legal entitlements if they are not happy with that." She said it was proper that this process between the workers and Dell is allowed proceed and she did not want to interfere.
The paper also notes that county councillors in Cork are complaining about Eircom's 1901 automated helpline. The councillors tried out the service after receiving a host of complaints about it from the public, with callers saying the system was confusing and they were kept on hold for lengthy periods of time.
The paper also says that Cork-based software company Qumas grew its turnover by 31 percent to USD16 million last year as it heads towards profitability in 2009. The company expects to break even by the end of 2008 following pre-tax losses of almost USD9 million in 2007. The firm said the turnaround is due to increased recognition of its products in the marketplace as well as its building on investments made over the past few years.
The Financial Times reports that Yahoo has appointed software veteran Carol Bartz as its new chief executive, an appointment viewed by Wall Street as safe but unspectacular. Bartz takes up the position immediately. She was previously executive chairwoman of Autodesk, a design software company that she led as chief executive for 14 years, and is a board member of Intel and Cisco Systems. Reports of her appointment sent Yahoo shares 1 percent lower by close of trade in New York on Tuesday. Yahoo also said that Sue Decker, its president and the chief internal candidate for the job, would resign after a transitional period to pursue other challenges.
The Wall Street Journal says that Oracle has trimmed its workforce, but not by as much as some people had speculated. The software company has cut around 500 positions in its North American sales and consulting businesses, according to sources. The company had 33,526 employees in the Americas at the end of November and 86,657 globally, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment. The internet had been buzzing with rumours of cuts of up to 10 percent of the company's workforce, a move that would affect thousands of people. It's unclear whether the company plans more cuts.
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