Intel moves to lay off hundreds of workers
Thursday May 21 2009
INTEL today began considering hundreds of employees for redundancy.
The company, which is one of the country's biggest multinational employers, has offered a redundancy package worth up to two years' salary.
The Co Kildare-based computer chipmaker was seeking between 200 and 300 redundancies from its 5,000-strong workforce.
The date for accepting the payout passed on Monday but the company has yet to release details of the outcome.
Capped
Bosses offered workers two weeks' statutory redundancy as well as six weeks' salary for every year of employment. The payouts were capped at two years' wages.
It is understood the company was hoping to achieve a figure of 250 for the number of workers willing to accept the package.
Intel Ireland, which has its plant in Leixlip, held face-to-face meetings with staff and sent an email around earlier this year.
cutbacks
In January, Intel announced plans to close two existing assembly test facilities in Penang, Malaysia, and one in Cavite, Philippines. Further cutbacks were announced for Oregon and California in the US.
The moves were expected to affect between 5,000 and 6,000 staff worldwide by the end of this year.
Mr Cannon said the company had looked at ways to cut costs in Ireland before considering job losses.
Speaking to the Herald today, Mr Cannon confirmed that the window for applying for the redundancy has closed.
The outcome of the process will be communicated to employees next week, he added.
Intel chairman Craig Barrett had signalled as recently as January that the multinational had no immediate plans to cut jobs or investment in Ireland, though that position subsequently changed.
A company spokesman said: "The clear message is that Intel is committed to Ireland and is not closing the site. While people are losing their jobs, the site is in safe hands."
blow
Fine Gael spokesman Damien English said the job losses were a "devastating blow" to staff and their families and to the county. He said the announcement was a "psychological blow to Ireland's hi-tech sector".
comurphy@herald.ie
- Cormac Murphy
