Gateway staff in no rush to take transfer

Just 60 of Gateway Computers' technical support team staff will transfer to its new outsource partner, US firm Clientlogic, despite being offered lucrative terms to move. More than 115 Gateway support staff were offered the opportunity to transfer from January 14th, to support the firm's European customers.

This was agreed in a multimillion pound deal signed between Gateway and Clientlogic last month, under which Clientlogic will manage technical support services for the firm's European customers. It followed Gateway's shock decision to exit Europe, the Middle East and Asia in August, resulting in the loss of 900 jobs at its Clonshaugh facility.

Clientlogic has offered all transferred staff the same terms and conditions as they enjoyed at the US computer manufacturer. In addition, each transferred employee would receive a payment equivalent to 75 per cent of Gateway's redundancy plan.

This redundancy package was generally considered one of the most generous on offer within the industry, with staff receiving at least six weeks' pay per year of service. Gateway also agreed to cover the tax liability on the once-off payments for employees transferring to Clientlogic.

However, just 60 staff have agreed to transfer, forcing Clientlogic to recruit and train new staff to enable it to offer Gateway customers technical support services from January 14th.

Ms Jennifer Kelly, Gateway human resources manager, said the relatively low take-up probably reflected the young workforce and the number of foreign staff who worked in the technical support team.

"Many of the staff from the Continent just took their redundancy payment and went back home," she said. "Many of the younger Irish staff have gone travelling or are taking a few months off."

An IDA Ireland spokesman said it reflected a new psychology among the younger generation and more skilled elements of the Irish workforce. "The younger generation, who have gone through college, tend to be more flexible and optimistic than workers in traditional industries," he said.

Ms Yvonne Molloy, client management director at Clientlogic, said the company had recruited a lot of the additional staff required for the Gateway contract. She said the firm had just 14 vacancies left.

She said the deal with Gateway meant a lot for Clientlogic, which had secured highly skilled employees and boosted its workforce to more than 300 staff, up from 180.

The volume of calls from Gateway customers would drop off over time but transferred staff would then be able to work on other Clientlogic accounts, said Ms Molloy. Clientlogic serves customers of British Telecom, Boots the chemist and electronics group Palm from Dublin.

There are no official figures showing how many Gateway staff have found new jobs, but Ms Kelly estimates about a third of those completing outplacement courses have done so. The Gateway closure was the biggest single job loss announcement in the State since Seagate pulled out of Clonmel in 1997, with the loss of 1,300 jobs.

See Focus on Recruitment 2002 supplement, page 4