Medtronic-Covidien to shed 150 jobs at Dublin centre

The medical device company Medtronic-Covidien is to shed 150 jobs at its contact centre in Dublin, according to the Communications Workers Union (CWU).

At a meeting with senior management on Monday, staff were told the jobs would be relocated to Poland next June. The contact centre offers support services in a number of languages to European clients.

The CWU has criticised the US firm for refusing to engage with it on the ground at the Cherrywood facility.

"Unfortunately the shocking news was just delivered yesterday and they [staff] are just coming to terms with it," CWU head of organising Ian McArdle told The Irish Times.

“Quite understandably the staff are in a state of shock. They would have felt that their jobs were secure. . .”

The company could not be reached for comment last night. Mr McArdle said he expected further details to emerge at a meeting between union and staff tonight and appealed to the company to engage.

Last January, Medtronic became the largest company based in Ireland when it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Following its $49.9 billion acquisition of Dublin-domiciled surgical supplies group Covidien, the Minneapolis-based business moved its corporate headquarters to Ireland.