That global and local economies are intimately connected in today's world has rarely been so shockingly demonstrated as in the closure of the General Semi-Conductor Ireland factory in Macroom, Co Cork, with the loss of 670 jobs. Everyone's sympathy will go out to its workforce and to the small town of 2,500 people and the agricultural hinterland which depend so much on it. The Government and State agencies must act immediately to seek alternative employment for them.
Yesterday's announcement was blamed by the company's chief executive on a simultaneous collapse of demand for computers in Asian, European and American markets. Unfortunately such factories, whose main activity is assembling computers or their parts, are immediately vulnerable - unlike those with higher technology and skills which form the greater part of American investment in this State. Also vulnerable are the Irish-based sub-suppliers to the computer industry.
Cruelly, this is the price of involvement in a globalised marketplace driven by mobile capital and worldwide demand. General Semi-Conductor Ireland trebled its workforce over the last decade; a 30 million investment and a recent takeover bid gave them hope their jobs would be secure. Many concerned forget during the long upswing that this is part of a cycle. The Macroom closure has not, however, been caused by over-pricing or loss of competitiveness but by a collapse in demand.
That is consoling, though replacement jobs would be more secure if they involved higher skills or new branches of technology. This must be the focus of industrial policy in the wake of the global downturn. A confident response will emphasise the need to intensify investment now so as to benefit from the next cycle of growth. Ireland's industrial and policy maturity will be keenly tested by events such as these. They also underline the need to develop indigenous industry, rather than depending principally on international investment to maintain employment.
Replacement jobs will be easier to find for the 900 Gateway workers who lost their jobs earlier this month in Dublin than for the 670 workers in Macroom, victims of the same industrial trend. The Government has a special responsibility to channel resources to small and vulnerable communities to help them over such a shock. This also helps relieve congestion in the larger urban centres.