Careers and Jobs

17,000 more workers joined the register in March, bringing the total figure to 371,000. These latest figures from the CStO show that 20,000 people signed on Live Register in March. This brings the seasonally adjusted total to 372,800 – a record high. More men than women joined the Live Register last month, with 13,600 males and 6,000 females signing on. Brian Cowen predicted that total number on the register could reach 450,000 by the end of the year. We seem to be getting there alot quicker than even he would have though.

There was also more negative jobs news for the munster region with jobs news from Flextronics. Employees at the company in Cork have voted to accept 130 voluntary redundancies as part of global restructuring plans. 150 employees will remain at the company. The company cut 118 jobs last November at its facility in Limerick.

According to today’s newspapers there could be 100 jobs lost at Molex in Shannon, Co. CLare. 100 of the 400 jobs could see their jobs cut with remaining staff taking salary cuts as a result of cost cutting measures. Molex make electronic, electrical and fibre optic interconnection systems at the Shannon plant. The company held a series of meetings on Tuesday to inform staff of redundancies and other cost-saving plans.

Dell have announced that they will cut about 1,900 jobs in Ireland as it plans to move its manufacturing function to Poland and a facility in Lodz. The jobs will be lost starting April with the transfer of manufacturing expected to be complete in 12 months time.

Dell announced a 3bn global cost cutting programme in 2008 and although it was expected that Ireland operations would have job casualties it was hoped otherwise. The positive new I guess is that 1,100 jobs were save in that these staff will continue to manage EMEA manufacturing, logistics and supply. Dell’s 1,500 employees in Cherrywood remain unaffected by the recent announcement.

The company statement read “We are proud of our 18-year tenure as a major manufacturer in Ireland. This is a difficult decision, but the right one for Dell to become even more competitive, and deliver greater value to customers in the region.”

Although the news is not a real surprise, as there have been job fears for months, it is still a terrible blow for the employees coming so close into the new year.

Quinn Insurance announced that it will create 500 new jobs at a new EUR25m facility in Little Island. The jobs will be created over the next 4 years. Good news is that 100 of these jobs will be created immediately with the rest between now an 2012. The jobs will be created across a wide range of disciplines including underwriting, claims and customer service. Quinn Insurance currently employs 3,000 people in Ireland and created 300 of these jobs in the last 12 months.

Also in Cork Option Wireless will create 145 new jobs. The company designs and manufactures internet wireless access devices.

Terrible news on the jobs front yesterday as 270 staff lost their jobs a few weeks before Christmas. There were 3 counties affected with 110 jobs lost in Galway, 70 jobs lost in Kilkenny and 90 jobs lost in Limerick.

110 jobs lost at Thermo King in Galway

Galway suffered the biggest job losses on the day with 110 going at Thermo King Refrigeration. The company based in Mervue produced equipment for the European transport sector. The company employed 600 staff in Galway.

70 jobs lost at NN Euroball in Kilkenny.

NN Euroball announced it would close operations yesterday. The American company based in the IDA Industrial Estate at Purcellsinch produced high precision metal bearing components for the car industry.

90 jobs lost in Limerick with Filtertek & Brothers of Charity

Filtertek announced that it would be laying of 59 of its 99 staff at Newcastle West. Economic conditions were again cited as the key reason. In Limerick city the Brothers of Charity announced that shortfall in funding will result in 30 people losing their jobs.

Today the newspapers announced that there are growing over the future of jobs at Kostal. This follows the news that the German manufacturer will cut working tme by 20% from February. The firm manufacters automotive electronic systems employs a total of 1,100 workers in Ireland. Downturn in global car sales has been sited as a reason for the cutbacks which will affect its two plants in Ireland – Mallow & Abbeyfeale. 29 workers are expected to be laid off this side of Christmas. There will also be shutdowns at these plants for three days in November and for three weeks over Christmas. From next February working hours at Mallow & Abbeyfeale will be reduced by 20 percent.

There are fears for the future of about 100 jobs in Limerick as Flextronics investigates cost cutting. Flextronics employs 290 people in the Limerick. The company provides logistics and warehousing services for many companies in the region, including large multinationals like Dell Computers. There have been ongoing talks between unions and management with an announcement expected next week.

Obviously performance at Flextronics is directly impacted by performance at Dell. It is not surprising that Dell is to axe 400 temp workers. Newspapers reported that Dell is to axe at least 400 temporary workers this weekend. The computer manufacturer confirmed that 400 temp staff will be let go in Limerick. This news has increased fears for the 3000 permanent employees

Another blow for electronics was the news that Motorola is cutting 3,000 jobs globally.

Tyco Sensormatic

Cork received another jobs hammer blow last week with the announcement that US electronics firm Tyco Sensormatic will be transferring 320 jobs from Ireland. The announcement was broken at a meeting last Thursday.

The Bishopstown plant produces electronic anti-theft tags used in retail. The company has seen the employee headcount shrink since 2005 when it employed just short of 500 staff.

Swissco

Other job loss in the region came with the announcement that Swissco was planning to close its operations with the loss of 150 jobs.

Cork Job Loss & Unemployment

Cork has suffered with the downturn in the economy as much as most other regions in Ireland with the number of people on the Live Register increasing by more than 4,000 between March 2007 and March 2008, a jump of 28.8%.

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Cork and Tullamore suffered sever job loss today with a double announcement. In Tullamore Boston Scientific announced that it will be closing operations with approximately 250 job losses. This is a serious blow to the midlands egion which has had its fair share of poor jobs news recently. What will be more worrying though is the fact that these jobs were in Medical Device Sector. Meanwhile in Cork there were more construction job losses with the closure of Howley Civil Engineering. This unfortunate news will see similar job loss figures.

Symantec in Dublin

Symantec has announced that it will be letting 70 staff go at its Blanchardstown operations in Dublin. This is a big blow as Symantec have been a key employer in the area for a good number of years. For more information about this announcement read more …

Abtran in Cork

Abtran has announced the creation of 100 new jobs in Cork. This will bring its total headcount to over 500 in Cork. For more information about this announcement read more …