Ministers’ US trip fails to avert job cuts at Dell Limerick plant

21 December 2008  By Pat Leahy and Gavin Daly

Up to 2,000 job losses are expected at Dell in Limerick in the new year when the computer firm announces plans to cut back manufacturing in Ireland.

The Sunday Business Post has learned that Mary Coughlan, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, and Willie O’Dea, Limerick-based Minister for Defence, flew to Dell’s headquarters in Texas early last week in a bid to persuade chief executive Michael Dell to retain the Limerick operation.

Their pleas were unsuccessful, although ministers hope that the company will retain at least some of the jobs in Limerick.

However, informed sources said that fewer than 1,000 jobs may be saved out of total employment of more than 3,000 in Limerick.

Dell has been considering the future of the factory as part of a global review and is now likely to transfer the bulk of manufacturing to eastern Europe and Asia. It is understood that only a small amount of laptop manufacturing may remain in Limerick.

Dell is also expected to retain some non-manufacturing staff, who work in IT, research, engineering and other areas. More than 1,500 Dell employees at Cherrywood in Dublin are also unlikely to be affected.

However, the cuts will have massive knock-on effects in Limerick. Dell set up in Ireland in 1990 and is the country’s largest exporter and the third-largest company overall.

The company recently moved the Limerick manufacturing operation into a separate company, Dell Products Manufacturing. It paid a wage bill of more than €140 million into the local economy last year.