Havok, a leading Irish supplier of interactive software and video games, is set to come to the rescue of some workers at the Motorola plant in Cork which is due to close at the end of May with the loss of 330 jobs.
Havok, which has provided the technology for top grossing films such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Troy, plans to interview a number of engineers from the Mahon plant over the next two weeks.
The interviews arise out of a jobs advertisement last month that Havok aimed at Motorola employees.
Executives at Havok have vowed to open an office in Cork if they can attract over 10 staff from Motorola.
They hope to employ around 30 former Motorola staff, with the potential later for a research and development centre in the city.
It is understood Havok targeted Motorola staff because their mobile phone expertise fits well with gaming technology.
Formed in 1998, Havok is headquartered in Dublin, and has offices in San Francisco, Texas, Tokyo, Munich, Calcutta and Stockholm.
Its international reputation is built on middleware - the essential background technology that controls how games work.
The company has worked on popular video games such as Age of Empires and Halo 2.
Meanwhile, workers at Motorola are set to finalise their exact finish dates this week. A number of staff will leave the plant at the end of this month. It is scheduled to close completely towards the end of May.
Motorola is providing assistance to all affected workers to help them obtain alternative employment as soon as possible.
It is being assisted in this task by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Fás.
About 22 companies attended an employment fair organised by Motorola management earlier this month.
The US electronics and mobile company confirmed last week that operations were to cease at the Mahon site with the loss of 330 jobs.
The remaining 20 employees, who are described as senior staff, will continue to work for Motorola from their homes.
The company entered into an "employee consultation process" with workers in January shortly after US head-office announced plants to cut 3,500 jobs or about 5 per cent of its international workforce.
The restructuring plan to cut costs was made after Motorola experienced a disappointing 48 per cent decline in fourth-quarter profits.
