So long Moto: Cork facility to wind down
09-03-2007
by Maxim Kelly

Motorola has become the latest high-tech firm to slash jobs in Cork, bringing overall redundancies across Munster to around 900 in only week.

The mobile phone giant has been a major Cork employer since 1981 -- making it one of the oldest multinationals in the county -- and the reported 330 losses in Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin's city in the run-up to the as yet undeclared general election will put pressure on the Government.

Local Fine Gael election candidate Councillor Deirdre Clune said an alternative government would have to tackle the rising costs of doing business in Ireland.

"The loss of such a high-profile company is very worrying, particularly when so much energy has been invested in promoting the hi-tech sector," she said.

"Cork deserves much better than it has got from Fianna Fail and the PDs. It's time for a government that will promote Cork's economy, keep business costs down and ensure that Cork retains its status as one Ireland's leading high-tech centres."

In a statement, the company complimented the professionalism and talent of its largely graduate workforce and said it had completed a 30-day consultation process to retain a small number of employees -- locally reported as 20 staff -- who will work from home in the area.

It is understood unions did not negotiate on behalf of staff, but management engaged with unofficial groupings of workers.

"During the consultation period, all parties have worked very hard to ensure that every possible avenue has been explored. Regrettably, none of these offered a viable alternative for continuing Motorola operations at the site," said the firm, which has reported 24 consecutive quarters of positive cash flows, but expressed disappointment after its most recent financial results did not meet internal forecasts.

"Motorola is now beginning individual discussions with employees and expects that the majority of employees will leave by the end of May 2007," said the statement.

"The company is providing assistance to all affected employees to help them to find alternate employment as quickly as possible. The company is grateful for the support and assistance provided by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and FAS."

Interestingly, the US telecoms firm reportedly rebuffed an approach from IDA Ireland as far back as 2001 to consolidate its European finance function in Cork, and delivered a warning about rising costs for its software development unit, which is now shedding staff.

"The number one priority now is to ensure that everything possible is done to ensure that Motorola staff are able to find alternative employment in the near future," said local Fine Gael councilor Jerry Buttimer. "State agencies must do all they can to facilitate staff and provide retraining. Cork has the people and the talent, and we must ensure that it will always have the jobs."

Although a number of new high technology jobs have been created in the area over recent weeks, most notably at EMC subsidiary VMware which is to create more than 300 technical support positions, the area has seemingly experienced more than its fair share of bad news.

"The fact that this is happening in Micheal Martin's backyard is particularly worrying, since his job is to bring employment to Cork," said Buttimer. "I hope that former Motorola staff will be able to find alternative employment elsewhere in the Cork region, but it is inevitable that some will have to move elsewhere."