18/06/2002

Fears for jobs at Nortel plant in Monkstown

With the recent announcement of global cutbacks from Canadian telecommunication giant Nortel fears are mounting about the safety of jobs at the company’s County Antrim plant in Monkstown.

At the end of May the company revealed another phase of restructuring which could see around 3,500 jobs being lost worldwide.

It has been speculated this will translate into the loss of around 50 jobs in the operations area.

Spokesman for the firm, Ben Rue, said today that Nortel were assessing the impact of the decision on the County Antrim factory, but that the outcome would be communicated to the workforce first.

Over the past twelve months Nortel’s workforce in Northern Ireland has fallen from 2,150 to 1,150 as a result of the recession hitting technology companies.

The plant makes telecommunications transmission equipment and has been a market leader in the provision of fibre optics.

The Newtownabbey operation is Nortel's largest optical systems house in Europe.

The company is a subsidiary of the Canadian-owned global hi-tech corporation which operates in 100 countries.

(AMcE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

12 March 2002
Nortel confirms fresh wave of redundancies
Nortel Networks have confirmed they are engaged in talks with employees following the announcement that the company is to introduce a fresh wave of voluntary redundancies at their Monkstown plant.
20 June 2002
200 jobs go at Nortel's Monkstown plant
Nortel's Monkstown plant is to suffer 200 job cuts following the management's decision to swing the jobs axe across its entire business. The County Antrim factory will see its 1,000-strong workforce slashed by a fifth as the global parent company attempts to reduce operating costs and achieve a return to profitability.
29 January 2002
Solectron expected to cut 200 jobs at County Antrim plant
More than 200 jobs look set to be lost at an electronics firm in County Antrim as a result of a downturn in the ailing technology sector. US based company Solectron is planning to close its factory in Carrickfergus and has issued its entire workforce with 90-day redundancy notices.
01 July 2009
Nortel Cuts Yet More Jobs
Telecoms giant Nortel has laid off 150 staff across the UK, all without redundancy pay. Nortel's Toronto-based HQ filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US in January and also put its UK arm into administration. At the end of March, 228 workers, including 87 from Nortel's facility in Co Antrim were laid off from its UK operation.
30 March 2009
Twin Jobs' Fears Revealed
There's doubly bad news on employment today as jobs are to be lost at a major manufacturing facility in Co Antrim, while more cuts are expected at Translink in Derry. The losses are at Nortel's plant in Newtownabbey where last month the telecoms company said it had plans to shed over 3,000 jobs worldwide.