This article is from page 7 of the 2006-01-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
SHANNON industry has been dealt a hammer blow in the past week with the news that up to 105 jobs could be lost at the telephonic company Flextronics.
Employees at the Shannon Free Zone plant were rocked last Wednesday morning when Flextronics management announced that 65 jobs could be gone at the plant by April.
Flextronics management have refused to issue any statement on the potential job losses, but The Clare People has learned that the company could be moving part of their operation to Belfast in the near future.
And, a cloud of uncertainty now hangs over 40 more jobs at the Flextronics plant, with employees fearing the worst in the wake of a weeklong veil of silence by company management.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” one employee told The Clare People . “We have been told that 65 jobs are to go in the next two months, but the feeling is that this is only the start and that all the jobs could go,” he added.
Industry sources in Shannon have forecast that the Flextronics job losses could have a massive impact on freights services out of Shannon.
Flextronics was responsible for giving much business to freight operators in Shannon. It’s estimated that it transported 3.5 million kilos of freight by road and air through freight companies.
A worst-case scenario of the Flextronics job losses could be a domino affect of job cuts in the six freight companies that operate out of the airport free zone.
Shannon Development has revealed that it has been made aware Flextronics’ current difficulties. “We know that Flextronics are reviewing their Shannon operation,” Shannon Development spokesperson Dympna O’Callaghan told The Clare People .
“We are not aware of what the final outcome of the job losses will be. All we know is that they are restructuring and they will make us aware formally what the outcome of those deliberations will be,” added Ms O’Callaghan.
“Flextronics are not members of the Shannon Chamber, but we do know that they are having a number of operational difficulties,” said Shannon Chamber of Commerce, Tríona McInerney. “There hasn’t been an official announcement on job losses, but they have lost a major customer. We hope that they will be able to resolve their difficulties,” added Ms McInerney.
Last year, Shannon Devlopment’s annual report revealed that 739 jobs were lost in the Free Zone, while there were 450 new jobs created during the same period.