1,000 new jobs boost after week of heavy losses

THE Government is to announce the creation of at least 1,000 jobs this week.

The announcement will follow the worst week for job losses in some time when more than 1,000 people lost their jobs, including 640 workers at 3Com which shut its Blanchardstown operations in Dublin west.

Pressure on companies to move to cheaper locations is one of the biggest threats facing Irish jobs.

Last week IDA Ireland warned that up to 15,000 jobs were under threat and that it was monitoring activities across 30 companies in the hi-technology sector alone.

Not all of the job losses would result in the total shutdown of the companies, said IDA Ireland spokesperson Colm Donlon. While 15,000 jobs are expected to be lost this year, the IDA said 12,000 replacement jobs were also in place or coming on stream.

This week eBay, the internet auction group, is expected to announce a major operation in Ireland involving the creation of 1,000 jobs.

This is not being backed by IDA Ireland who wanted the group to move outside the Dublin region and east coast to a less developed area.

This resulted in eBay walking away from talks with the IDA and led to criticisms that the state agency had been too rigid in its dealing with the group.

Today in Cork Tánaiste Mary Harney will announce the completion of a major Pepsi Cola project that has been under development for nearly two years. This project will eventually see up to €250 million worth of investment in hi-tech plant and equipment in Cork to create a new source of concentrate for Pepsi’s key cola soft drink.

Last week also the IDA announced 160 new jobs for the North-East involving two separate projects in Dundalk.

As the global economy continues to struggle huge pressure is being brought to bear on the existing multinationals here, which account for 140,000 jobs, to become more cost competitive.

Those who fail to do that, like 3Com, are being forced to relocate to Eastern European countries where labour is much cheaper.

This trend is set to continue, but Mr Donlon said it is not all bad news on the jobs front.

While jobs are being lost, most are being replaced.

However, he acknowledged that the replacement of these jobs was not at the same rate as during the boom times.

He pointed out though that the multinational presence in Ireland still accounts for a major part of the success of the Irish economy.

However, he said that adding on strategic functions to existing multinationals including R&D and shared services, or back office functions like sales and accounting have been prioritised by the IDA in the last number of years to ensure their survival.

Mr Donlon said that compared to Irish firms, multinationals located here have as long a life span as indigenous companies. Studies carried out by the government and the ESRI have shown that to be the case, he said.