West Dublin loses more tech sector jobs

20-12-2006

by Ciara O'Brien

It will be a subdued Christmas for 230 Creative workers after the electronics firm announced it was to cut a further 140 jobs in the New Year.

Last week, some 90 positions were axed when Creative Labs closed its assembly line operation at its European Headquarters in the Ballycoolin Industrial Estate in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The company has shifted the manufacturing of its flagship 'Zen' digital music players to a lower-cost economy.

On Tuesday, Creative announced that a further 140 jobs were to go as part of its restructuring plans, with manufacturing and logistics functions also chosen for outsourcing. This brings total job losses to 230 at the facility, which also builds sound cards for the European PC market.

"The restructuring at Creative Labs is part of an overall review of the firm's global operations," the company said in a statement. "This [latest] announcement will impact 140 employees across most functions."

However, there are no plans at Creative to pull out of Ireland completely -- yet. In its statement, the company has indicated that its European headquarters will remain in Dublin; employing around 200 people in the provision of Europe-wide support for activities including outsource management, marketing, IT, finance, credit, HR, customer services and support.

Creative Labs opened its European headquarters in Dublin in 1993 as part of the firm's bid to win over the European region's digital music market.

The Creative jobs news was a double blow for the West Dublin area, which was recently left reeling by Xerox's announcement it will conclude a review its Irish operations in early 2007. This could mean the loss of hundreds of jobs at its Ballycoolin plant.

Politicians have been calling for the Government to find a way to save the jobs. Labour finance spokesperson Joan Burton described it as a "major blow" to both employees and the area itself.

"No time is good to hear that you are losing your job, but immediately before Christmas is particularly cruel," she said.

"I would appeal to Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin to intervene with the company to see if these jobs can be maintained in Ireland rather than transferred overseas. This follows the major job review underway at Xerox which may result in hundreds of jobs being lost. West Dublin, and indeed the country in general, cannot afford to haemorrhage electronic or other jobs on this scale."

The loss of the manufacturing jobs lends further weight -- and urgency -- to the Government's ambitions to develop Ireland as a knowledge economy, as the country's high cost base increasingly loses out to lower-cost economies.

High wage costs and rising energy prices in Ireland are putting pressure on the manufacturing industry, and as a result international firms are becoming increasingly tempted to cut their losses and move to cheaper locations.