400 Alcatel jobs in Ireland safe from European redundancies

The 400 Alcatel jobs in Ireland are safe "for the immediate future" and will not be affected by the 10,000 redundancies which the telecommunications conglomerate announced yesterday throughout Europe.

Mr David Thompson, Alcatel's director of marketing and business development, told The Irish Times that the parent company had informed its Irish management that the 130 jobs at the Bandon plant in Co Cork did not form part of the latest rationalisation move.

Neither did the 20 jobs at Shannon or the 60 in Dublin where the Alcatel sales and marketing as well as enterprise divisions are located. Staff had been kept fully informed of the latest developments, he added.

Last summer, Alcatel asked its Irish workforce to accept 15 voluntary redundancies as part of an earlier rationalisation programme and these were implemented swiftly and with the full agreement of the unions.

According to Mr Thompson, a strict cost control regime has been put in place by Alcatel Ireland, and this, together with the voluntary redundancies, has saved the Irish operation from the present round of redundancies.

He warned, however, that the Irish workforce was not immune from international market forces.

"We set ourselves cost-saving targets and we have achieved them but it doesn't mean that Alcatel in Ireland is immune.

"The best anyone can say, and I stress this point, is that for the immediate future, the Irish jobs are safe.

"The employees have been fully briefed and are aware of the situation.

"We have been able to reassure them that as of now, there is no threat to their jobs," he added.

Alcatel's turnover in Ireland last year was €72 million and its annual contribution to the local economy in Bandon is estimated at between £4-£5 million (€5-6.3 million). It is one of the biggest employers in the town which has a large hinterland.

"There were fears that Bandon would suffer the same fate as Macroom where some 670 jobs were lost last August when GSI unexpectedly announced closure, blaming an unprecedented downturn in worldwide trading conditions.

Yesterday, SIPTU branch secretary, Mr Eddie Mullins, welcomed the company's reassurance that the Irish jobs were safe and said Alcatel had acted quickly and prudently to ensure its Irish operation had already "tightened its belt" prior to the call for the huge number of redundancies now being sought by the company.

"In light of the global situation, this has to be good news. We think Alcatel Ireland is viable and on that basis, we would want to explore every option with the company bar redundancies to secure the long-term future of the jobs here.

"When the 15 redundancies were asked for last summer, it was accepted without any fuss that rationalisation was needed.

"This left the company's operation in Ireland well placed to withstand the latest cutbacks," he added.

News that Irish jobs would not be affected was also welcomed by the Cork Chamber of Commerce yesterday.