Shannon Free Zone suffers 254 job losses

SHANNON Development confirmed yesterday that the Shannon Free Zone recorded a net loss of 254 jobs last year.

The regional development agency confirmed that 616 jobs were lost with 362 created in the zone last year, where more than 6,000 people are employed. The business park hosts Ireland’s largest cluster of US companies including Zimmer, Digital River, GE Capital, Molex and Symantec.

A spokeswoman for Shannon Development confirmed that the job losses do not include the 207 job losses announced at Shannon Aerospace and Elsevier last October that have yet to be fully implemented.

She said: “While overall employment at Shannon Free Zone fell 4% year on year, it should be noted that almost 90% of these job losses were the result of downsizing and not closures, enabling Shannon Development to continue working with these companies to identify new market opportunities.”

The agency confirmed that jobs in indigenous companies at Shannon Free Zone grew by 5.5% from 949 to 1,002 during 2010.

The most significant jobs announcement for the zone last year was 117 new jobs at US global financial security firm Genworth Financial.

The spokeswoman said: “The Shannon Free Zone performed well against a difficult global business environment in 2010. Shannon Free Zone continues to be a major economic driver for the Shannon Region, with Shannon Free Zone companies collectively contributing over €600 million to the Irish and Shannon region economy annually in areas such as staff payroll, materials and services.”

On Friday, the Free Zone is hoping to receive a fresh boost with mobile device accessory producer ZAGG expected to announce 300 jobs for Shannon by the end of 2014. The company has already established its operation at Shannon to manufacture and distribute goods for the European market.

The agency’s job creation record is contained annually in its end-of-year statement, but the agency did not publish one this year.

The spokeswoman said the announcement of the general election resulted in a lost opportunity for the agency to publish the end-of -year statement, confirming that Shannon Development will publish its annual report for 2010 later in the year.

In response to the job losses at the Free Zone last year, Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said: “It’s critical that this trend is addressed. The Shannon Free Zone is of immense importance to Co Clare and the mid-west.

“I have every confidence that the Minister for Enterprises and Jobs, Richard Bruton, together with Shannon Development will create the right business environment in which existing jobs will be protected and new jobs established,” the TD said.