Motorola staff in business launch plans

SOME of Motorola’s highly skilled staff have turned the company’s closure to their advantage.

Several of the Cork-based mobile phone firm’s software engineers are planning to set up their own hi-tech spin-off businesses following talks with Enterprise Ireland in recent weeks.

The news emerged yesterday as company managers began individual talks with the 330 employees whose jobs have been axed.

The jobs will go in phases until the end of June. The company plans to maintain a small team of about 20 people at the Blackrock plant for a number of months.

But they are expected to eventually become e-workers, based at home, before the plant is sold.

Staff have been busy sourcing new jobs since the closure was announced in January.

They organised a major jobs fair at the plant, last week, which was attended by more than 20 companies from the region.

Several Motorola workers were offered new jobs. Havoc, the Dublin-based hi-tech computer games software designer, has also head-hunted a number of key staff. That company has said that if it gets enough workers, it would consider setting up an office in Cork.

Motorola workers released an agreed statement yesterday thanking the company.

Staff spokesperson Marie Murphy, an electrical engineer who has worked with Motorola for the last 16 years, said, while her colleagues were sad about losing their jobs and unsure about the immediate future, most were confident of finding similar work locally.

“Motorola has been a good employer over the years, and we would like to thank them for the many good times.

“Our highly qualified team contributed a lot of energy and talent to Motorola, designing and developing many cutting edge software products.

“For the employees, sadly, a chapter in our professional, and in many ways, our personal lives is coming to a close.

“We must now look for opportunities where we can utilise our considerable skills, talent and experience. Our first preference is to find work in Cork.

“There is a lot of possibilities,” Ms Murphy said.

She declined to comment on redundancy packages but said most staff were satisfied with theirs.

Tricia Balfe, who moved from Waterford 11 years ago to work with Motorola, said the workers have had time to look for new opportunities.

“For some, it is very difficult, but that is the way of it. We have had a lot of good experience over the years and a lot of us would be very settled here,” she said.

Motorola said the plant had become unavailable, but praised the professionalism and talent of its staff.