370 JOBS CUT AT DIAMOND FIRM; Bosses claim Irish plant most expensive in world.Byline: AINE AINE Antiinflamatorio No Esteroideo (Spanish: nonsteroidal antiinflammatory) HEGARTY A LEADING diamond giant axed 370 jobs yesterday claiming its Irish operation was the most expensive in the world. Element Six said it will stop all manufacturing and distribution at its Shannon plant in Co Clare and keep just 80 workers in research, admin and customer support. The announcement was the second major jobs blow this week after Intel revealed plans to slash 294 jobs at its Co Kildare plant. Element Six bosses yesterday said they could no longer do business here, prompting local politicians to demand the Government urgently stem the job losses in the region. Clare Mayor Tony Mulcahy said the announcement heightened fears other multinationals could follow suit and slash staff. He added: "The precedent set by the significant job losses at Dell, combined with the ongoing economic downturn, is having a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. impact on the Mid West's manufacturing sector. "Business, community and political leaders across the region fear that today's announcement by Element Six will not be the last in this sector and that the haemorrhaging of jobs will continue unless immediate Government and EU intervention takes place." He said around 3,000 jobs have been lost in the region over the past four years. Element Six is the world's leading supplier of diamond materials used in a wide range of industries such as oil and gas, automotive, construction, mining, telecommunications and technology. It has facilities in China, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. , Sweden and the UK. Trade union Siptu held talks with bosses and hit out at the company's redundancy offer. The firm said it is giving EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 6.5million for severance The act of dividing, or the state of being divided. The term severance has unique meanings in different branches of the law. Courts use the term in both civil and criminal litigation in two ways: first, when dividing a lawsuit into two or more parts, and second, when payments which is more than its statutory requirements. It also added it would fund a pension deficit with EUR10million a year. But Siptu organiser Mary O'Donnell added: "Some of our members have given 30 years' service and have stuck with the company though thick and thin when they could have left on significantly better terms." Element Six said it regretted the lay-offs but the operation could no longer be sustained. A statement added: "Despite a series of cost reduc-tioprogrammes in the past few years, continued production at the Shannon site is no longer sustainable and the primary business it serves is lossmaking." 3,000 THE JOBS POST IN THE MID WEST OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS CAPTION(S): TALKS Sipto leader Mary O'Donnell with staff yesterday |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion