Up to 200 jobs in US firms under threat

EMC set up a sales division in Dublin in 1994 to service interest in the company's storage products and services.

Up to 200 jobs were under threat in three locations around the Republic last night, as two US companies confirmed that they would be reducing staff numbers.

The two companies - Oasis Ireland and EMC - cited declining demand for their products as the reason for downsizing.

Oasis Ireland, based in Ballina, Co Mayo, declined to say how many jobs were being eliminated, having denied earlier this week that up to 70 jobs could go at its plant. Oasis, which currently employs 122 people, makes water coolers and dehumidifier systems, and has been in Ballina since 1991. The company said it was putting a comprehensive package in place for those who were being made redundant.

The independent Mayo TD, Dr Jerry Cowley, called on the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, to reactivate the North Mayo Task Force, when the job cuts were confirmed.

Meanwhile, US data storage equipment company EMC is seeking another round of voluntary redundancies at its facilities in Cork and Dublin. The redundancies come in the wake of disappointing third-quarter figures, which were announced in the US yesterday.

The data storage machine maker reported a quarterly loss of $51 million (€52.5 million), citing a continuing unwillingness among corporates to spend money on technology.

"The IT spending drought got even worse as the third quarter came to a close. Corporations are under-spending their existing budgets, striving to balance expenses in order to offset their own revenue shortfalls," said chief executive Mr Joe Tucci.

A spokeswoman for the company in the Republic said the redundancy figures have to be finalised, adding however that they were unlikely to exceed 100. EMC employs more than 1,200 people in the Republic.

Last March the company sought 160 redundancies from its Cork workforce in Ovens. Senior management had tried to avoid cuts by implementing unpaid leave on two occasions but this was ultimately viewed as an unworkable option.

Such was the interest in redundancy terms in Cork that the company eventually laid off close to 300 staff members from its European headquarters.

The Cork plant opened in 1988 and was EMC Corporation's first manufacturing facility outside of North America. Workers at the plant assemble and test the computer giant's Clarion and Symmetrix products, which are then shipped to all locations outside the US.

The company was founded by the current US Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Richard Egan, in 1979. He led the company from obscurity to being voted fifth in the Business Week ranking of the world's top-performing IT firms in 1999.

The news of redundancies in Cork comes just four days after the closure of Irish Fertilizer Industries (IFI) in Cobh with the loss of more than 200 jobs.

Doubts were also hanging over 240 jobs in Sun Microsystems in Dublin last night, as the US technology company prepared to deliver its latest quarterly results.

Most analysts were expecting a poor performance, with some predicting that the company would be forced to cut one-fifth of its global workforce, or 8,000 jobs.

A company spokesman said the Irish staff were engaged in high-end technology development and, therefore, may escape the worst of any large-scale reductions. It is unclear how many jobs at Sun's Irish partner company, Horizon Open Systems, would be affected by any staff-reduction plan. (Additional reporting, Reuters)