BUSINESS
NETg cuts 173 Limerick jobs
19-11-2003
by
E-learning company NETg said on Wednesday that it would close its facility in Limerick, with the loss of 173 jobs.
In a statement, the company said that the closure had come as a result of a decision to centralise global product development at a facility in Naperville, Illinois. The company said that Joe Dougherty, president of NETg, spoke personally with the departing employees on Wednesday, telling them that by 12 March 2004 the site would cease operations. It is expected that workers will receive redundancy payments and other transition services.
"As the business environment changes we must adapt our organisation to respond to both the opportunities and the risks that this entails," Dougherty said in a press statement. "Over the past several months, our management team has reviewed the business and identified strategies that will most effectively help us manage through this challenging economic environment dominated by slower demand than anticipated for IT training products and services."
"We are proud of, and grateful for, the contribution our Limerick colleagues have made to our business," he added.
Just over a year ago, NETg, which is part of the Thomson Corporation, cut 50 jobs in Limerick in response to the difficult economic environment. But those cuts, and Wednesday's job losses, came after the firm said in April 2002 that EUR12 million would be invested in the Limerick site that would bring with it 360 new jobs.
A spokesperson for the IDA, who described the cuts as disappointing, said that about EUR1 million of the IDA's share of that investment scheme had been paid out and that negotiations would commence to determine a repayment scheme.
The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Harney, TD, also weighed in on the announcement, expressing her own regret. "My sense of disappointment is heightened by the fact that this news comes in a week when we had a very positive development on the jobs front in the region with the announcement of a major investment in the financial services sector in Shannon," she said.
NETg is part of the Thomson Corporation, which deals mainly in information provision in a vast array of fields from law, tax and accounting to financial services, education, corporate training, scientific research and healthcare. The company is listed on the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges.
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