As Macroom struggles to pick up the pieces from the loss of 670 jobs at the General Semiconductors plant, Motorola, another Cork-based company involved in semiconductor research and development, has shown what may be the way forward for Irish firms.
The Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, moved quickly to establish a task force for Macroom and said the volatile and sensitive semiconductor sector might not be the best option for the future. She suggested the IDA might instead concentrate on attracting industries involved in medical services to Ireland.
Mr John Quigley, director of Motorola's research and design facility at Cork Airport Business Park, believes the Government is correct in seeking to diversify but is also convinced that research and design is where Ireland can forge a really bright future.
"Ireland is no longer the low cost manufacturing base it once was. The emphasis should now be switched to research and design. The best example I can offer is our facility here at the Cork Airport Business Park which has achieved so much in just three years." Mr Quigley was referring to the Cork facility's input into the development of the semiconductor chip set for Motorola's next generation GPRS cell phones, now coming on stream. The technology developed in Cork alongside other worldwide Motorola research and design centres, is expected to capture a significant share of the wireless semiconductor market, forecast to reach $35 billion by 2004.
The new high-speed phones known in the industry as the 2.5G GSM/GPRS, will have integrated Internet, e-mail and messaging and will give users access to technology previously only available using a computer modem on a land line.
One of the chips for the new phones was designed in Cork and this leaves it in a more secure position at a time of great uncertainty around the world, says Mr Quigley.
"Based on the talent pool available in Ireland and on our relationship with UCC the national Microelectronics Research Centre (NMRC ) and the CIT, I believe that Motorola has a strong and long-term commitment to Ireland," he said. Whether US confidence has been fatally undermined following the attack on Manhatten remained to be seen, Mr Quigley said. A more measured view can be taken about what has been happening and what may be about to happen in the semiconductor industry, notoriously subject to swings and roundabouts.
"Typically, when the industry goes down, it bounces back again. The problem was that we had a tremendous glut of inventory coupled with the expectation that growth would surge forward.
"I don't think we should be all doom and gloom about this. The historic evidence in Motorola is that we come out of down cycles stronger than before. The trick is to be in a position to ride the crest of the wave when it comes. I think our Cork facility is fortunate to be a key part of the products the company is now developing," Mr Quigley said.
Motorola also has a chip production factory at Mahon, in Cork, where some 500 people are employed, and that facility may be directly in the firing line. The company has already signalled its intention to cut its worldwide workforce by 2,000 people and the Mahon plant does not expect to be immune.
In the meantime, the task force brought together by the Tβnaiste finds itself confronted with a landscape no one could have foreseen prior to September 11th. The hope was, says task force chairman and Cork county manager, Mr Maurice Moloney, that the GSI plant, a state of the art facility, would attract another American investor. However, instead of looking west, the task force is now preparing to look to the east.
"We have asked the IDA's operation in Asia to highlight what Macroom has to offer. The GSI plant is an excellent facility with 122,000 sq ft on 16 acres. The situation has become more difficult because of the World Trade Centre devastation but we are hopeful, nevertheless," he added. When GSI closed, Ms Harney said she believed other firms in the area were preparing to offer jobs to as many as 300 of the redundant workforce. That may have been somewhat optimistic.