The decision by Apple to let go 150 of its 1,800 workers in Cork comes as a disappointment. But, in the longer term, it may be a small price to pay to ensure that this innovative company not only survives but prospers after years of relentless decline.
Moving the printed circuit board facility to the Far East is a sensible strategy: Apple is the only computer-maker in the State still conducting its own printed circuit board operations. Now Cork has been earmarked for partial manufacture of Apple's latest design, the iMac, scheduled for launch in August.
Touted as Apple's magic turnaround product, the decision to produce it here is some indication of how important the Irish operation is to Apple's activities.
Apple has undergone major change since last August, when Steve Jobs, Apple's founder and former chief executive, returned to the helm as interim chief executive. Unceremoniously ousted under board pressure in 1985, Jobs has a notorious reputation in the industry. Peter Worlock, a columnist with Macworld magazine, this month described him as "scheming, duplicitous, arrogant, barefaced and brassnecked".
However, these may be just the qualities necessary to steer Apple out of the doldrums. Jobs is obsessive about marketing and design, reportedly caring less about the profit line than the product's integrity. Such unorthodox tendencies appear to have been tempered this time around. In February, after a series of grim returns, Apple reported two consecutive quarters of profits. And earlier this month its share price rose after Standard & Poors revised its outlook on the company from negative to positive.
This turnaround followed the introduction of cost-cutting measures by Jobs when he returned to the company. A series of recently introduced products are contributing to the recovery, not least the powerful G3 processor, which boasts twice the processing speed of Intel's Pentium II chip.
Predictably, it has appealed to Apple's huge user base, which is chiefly located in the publishing, design and multimedia sector, where the graphic capabilities of Apple machines are highly prized. But to pose any kind of real threat to its competitors, Apple has to broaden its appeal to a wider market. Steve Jobs is relying on three new products to return Apple to the forefront of innovation, a position it enjoyed in the 1980s. With typical Jobs-ian obsession with hype, marketing and image, the three products carry juvenile names, Pro, Go and Whoa. Already half a million Pro machines have been sold to creative professionals seeking high processing speeds from their G3 Mac desktops.
The Go is the G3 Powerbook, a slender laptop again packing the rocket-strength G3 processor. These laptops are being manufactured at Apple's Cork plant, which has been described as its "centre of excellence" for portable computers. Apple sources say staff have been rushed off their feet for weeks trying to meet demand.
But it's the Whoa that Apple-watchers are getting excited about. Due to be introduced next month, it is better known as the iMac, and Jobs is hoping it will have the same impact as the original Mac in the 1980s.
Very competitively priced - it is expected to cost about £1,200 here - it is targeting the home-user market. However, it is its design that is setting it apart.
A curvaceous retro look makes it unlike anything produced before. Luminescent blue sides, translucent cords and a light-up mouse have drawn comparisons to the new Volkswagon Beetle, and industry critics have been little short of rapturous.
Featuring the G3 processor, it will be faster than most PCs within its price range. What is more significant is that inter-operability with standard Intel-based PCs will be easier than at the moment. The iMac also promises strong Internet support and multimedia capabilities.
However, there are those who have doubts about the iMac. They say that apart from its good looks there is little else new. Concerns have been raised about the modem speed, the absence of a floppy disk drive and the fact that exterior access ports will not be compatible with existing Mac printers and scanners.
If Apple manages to capture the imagination with the iMac, we could see a return to the glory days that made Apple great. After Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in Cupertino, California, in 1977, they revolutionised computers with the first graphical user interface to the PC screen.
Replacing the unattractive DOS system with the mouse and clickable icons, Apple secured its footing on the vast personal computer landscape.
However, it wasn't long before cracks began to appear under Jobs's Machiavellian leadership. Apple began to flounder under shaky management, poor quality control and marketing decisions and failure to price its products competitively. Despite a huge fan base, Apple's product line began to feel the strain. Microsoft drove the final nail home when it came up with its operating system, Windows, which closely resembled that of the Mac Operating System. Apple refused to play along, and ended up with a fraction of Microsoft's global market share.
Since 1985 approximately 6,500 jobs have been shed worldwide, and an almost permanent cloud of doubt has hung over Apple's Cork operation. The company has been restructured six times, and before Steve Jobs returned as interim chief executive it went through three chief executives in four years.
The current feel-good factor surrounding Apple has been a long time coming, although there are concerns that too much is being pinned on a narrow range of products. What Jobs appears to be doing is focusing on Apple's core competencies, and making sure he delivers on promises.
Another significant development was Jobs's announcement last year of a $150 million investment by Microsoft in Apple. To long-standing Mac fans, the move was viewed as heresy, but more importantly the market reacted with optimism. The stock value has doubled to $30 a share.
Against that, it must be remembered that Apple's market share was 15 per cent in 1985, against 4 per cent in the last quarter. The company lost $2 billion in the last two years. Its problems are profound, and it may take more than faster, cool-looking computers to make an impact.
Some industry experts believe Apple should apply its strengths in innovative technology to enhanced consumer products, in the form of voice recognition or intelligent systems that anticipate a user's needs. Whatever long-term strategy the company adopts, Apple now needs to harness its overriding capability in user-friendly interfaces to give the dominant Windows/Intel partnership a run for its money.