150 jobs lost at Cork wireless technology company

One hundred and fity jobs have been lost from the wireless technology manufacturer Option Wireless in Cork.

The company says it has had to significantly downsize its operations at Kilbarry Industrial Estate in Cork because of a €20m cost-reduction plan by its parent company Option NV.

A further 22 people will be kept in employment at the facility.

Just over a year ago, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan announced that Option Wireless was to hire an extra 145 staff for high quality production jobs.

The company then employed 300 people. By March, only 22 will remain.

Option Wireless told its 150 staff today that they were being let go, with the first redundancies in January.

Chief operations officer Phillipe Rogge said the job cuts were an inevitable outcome of the market situation.

The group operations headquarters will remain at Kilbarry Industrial Estate, but the vast majority of the work is being transferred to lower cost economies in Asia.