FORECASTS of improving orders from Flextronics International, Intel, and Advanced Micro Devices suggest that the worst of a three-year slump in sales of computer hardware, software and services may be over.

Northern Ireland suffered another serious jobs blow today when Canadian telecommunications company Nortel announced it was getting rid of another 200 workers at its Co Antrim plant.

A US-based electronics firm has announced plans to close its factory in north Dublin with the loss of 375 jobs.

Around 200 jobs were today set to be lost at a Northern Ireland electronics company.

The world's largest maker of disk drives is axing up to 1,500 jobs in Singapore and the US.