Electronics firm axes 130 jobs

ONE of north Cork’s biggest employers is to shed 130 jobs in the coming weeks, less than two years after a €30 million investment in its plant.

Highly skilled staff at the Sanmina SCI medical electronics manufacturing plant in Fermoy were told yesterday that the 130 contract jobs will be axed shortly.

It is understood the company blamed the global downturn. A company spokesperson was not available for comment last night.

It is the biggest jobs blow in the town since 350 jobs were lost at the nearby FCI electronics plant two years ago.

The company employs about 400 people in Fermoy — about half of which are on temporary or short-term contracts. The plant was established in 1989 by SCI and became Sanmina-SCI following a merger between the groups in 2002.

Yesterday’s announcement came less than two years after a e30m IDA-supported investment in the plant. It was designed to transform the facility into a manufacturing and design centre-of-excellence for the medical industry and create 50 highly skilled positions.

It helped position the facility as a flagship contract manufacturing facility within the Sanmina SCI group.

Labour TD Seán Sherlock said the announcement is worrying because these are highly skilled high-end jobs the Government is trying to attract to Ireland.

“This is a company that was well-supported by the IDA and that we thought could operate competitively against eastern European competitors through this difficult period,” he said.

“The Government now needs to address its policy in relation to this type of operation.” He also called on the Government to intervene to prevent further job losses at the plant.

A former SCI employee, local town councillor Seamus Coleman, said it was unfortunate that more jobs were being lost in the town.

“They were and are still great employers. It is unfortunate that so many will be let go, especially as a number of big employers in the area like Galtee and FCI have also gone. Therefore it will be much harder for these people to find alternative employment,” he said.

Sanmina SCI is based in California and manufactures a variety of products, including magnetic resonance imaging equipment, ventilators and respiration monitors.