Shannon IT Jobs Losses "Hammer Blow" Says TD

A Fine Gael TD has described an announcement of almost 60 job losses in Shannon as a "hammer blow" for the south west.

The comment follows an announcement by IT company Avocent detailing the loss of 57 jobs in their Shannon office while a further seven staff face redundancy in Dublin.

The planned restructuring by the company announced in late June will result in a reduction in jobs in Shannon from 160 to 103.

Many of the functions of Avocent’s Dublin office will also be transferred to the US.

In a statement, the company said: "These measures as part of a series of actions designed to enhance competitiveness, improve efficiency and reduce the company’s cost structure across its European locations.

"The reductions will affect certain research and development, marketing and technical support functions as well as the transfer of Asia operations from Shannon, Ireland to the company’s recently established regional hub in Singapore."

Fine Gael TD for Clare Joe Carey called the lay-offs another "hammer blow to the south west."

"Avocent is a global hi-tech IT management solutions company which has been a good employer in the area. This will have a huge knock-on effect on the local economy," he said.

"The mid west is currently being hung out to dry, and much of it is due to the Government’' inept handling of the (Aer Lingus) Shannon to Heathrow crisis.

"The cost of doing business continues to escalate, while the region still lacks essential infrastructure."

Fine Gael's Spokesman for Enterprise, Leo Varadkar, said the layoffs showed the cost of doing business in Ireland is now out of control.

"These lay-offs cannot be explained away by the recession or the ongoing global credit crunch.

"The Irish economy is now losing jobs on two fronts, with traditional manufacturing jobs going to low-cost locations like India and China, and high-value jobs going to high-cost economies like the US, Israel, and Singapore.

"If Ireland is to have any prospect of pulling out of the slump, the Government must embark on the long process of restoring our competitiveness.

"This must be coupled with ongoing investment in infrastructure and education, including training and upskilling programmes for those people who have lost their jobs."

(DW)