Electronics manufacturer Analog Devices is to seek 150 redundancies at its Limerick plant following the decision to phase out one of its factories on the site. John Collinsand Kathryn Hayesreport.
The older factory, which produces six-inch silicon wafers, will be closed by the end of next year. Production will be moved to a newer fabrication facility on the site. It will be capable of producing eight-inch wafers and will allow for a higher production yield.
Analog employs 1,250 people at its base at the Raheen Business Park and is one of Limerick's biggest employers.
In a statement released yesterday, the company said: "Limerick continues to play an integral role in Analog Devices's global operations, with investment in R&D [ research and development] continuing to increase on an annual basis."
"This is a long-term strategic decision for us as we must continuously assess our manufacturing capability to maintain our leadership position in the global semiconductor industry in which we compete," said Dennis Dempsey, Analog's vice-president for Limerick manufacturing.
"By focusing this flagship manufacturing facility on the more advanced eight-inch technology, we will be better positioned to provide innovative technology that is optimised to the performance and cost requirements of our customers well into the foreseeable future", Mr Dempsey said.
Locally, the job losses are being attributed to increasing costs in the Irish market.
Staff who were called into a meeting at 11am yesterday said they were told there would be redundancies to make the company "more competitive within the market due to rising costs".
Analog produces signal processing components, which are used in cars, digital cameras, LCD and plasma televisions, mobile phones, medical imaging devices, and factory automation equipment.
The company said employees who take the redundancy package will receive an additional severance payment as well as their statutory entitlement.
In addition, extended medical benefits, enhanced pensions for employees over 55 and support for finding new jobs will be made available to staff affected by the change.
Analog Devices is one of the longest-established high-tech multinationals in the country, having set up its Limerick base in the 1970s.
It is the Massachusetts-headquartered company's largest manufacturing base outside the US.
Earlier this week Analog reported disappointing third-quarter results as an increase in revenue was offset by increased costs.
The US firm had a pretax profit of $154 million (€113.5 million), compared with a profit of $175 million in the same period the previous year.
