The Government last night turned the spotlight on its job creation record and the lowest year-end level of unemployment in 19 years as another of IDA Ireland's flagship US companies confirmed it is to cut jobs.
Almost 700 redundancies had been announced this week before Gateway - which makes personal computers for the European market at Clonshaugh, Dublin - said it would shed staff as part of worldwide restructuring in response to flagging sales. Up to 200 of its 1,600 workers could lose their jobs.
The live register figure, showing a year-on-year fall of nearly 35,000, "says more than any fine words about this Government's successful assault on unemployment", said the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern. The number signing on at the end of December was 141,586. The seasonally adjusted figure was 138,700, the lowest for 19 years.
The December figure did not reflect the 700 redundancies announced by Motorola, the mobile phone manufacturer, following the rationalisation of its Irish operations. Its plant at Swords, Co Dublin, will close next month.
Gateway, which on Thursday announced losses for the three months to the end of December of $94.3 million, is the latest in a series of US multinationals to scale back their Irish operations as the economy cools at home.
Intel, the world's largest maker of computer chips, announced last month it was postponing the expansion of its plant at Leixlip, Co Kildare, which would have created 1,000 jobs.
Yesterday's news from Gateway came a day after 260 job losses were announced in Dublin by Thermo King - another US group. German-owned Henniges Elastomer in Ballina, Co Mayo, also said it was closing, with the loss of 170 jobs.
R&A Bailey, makers of Baileys Irish Liqueur, is to close its £6.5 million ICON interpretative centre and entertainment complex. The centre, at Leopards town Racecourse in Dublin, is closing after 18 months because it failed to attract enough visitors.
More than 60 jobs have been lost at the centre, which attracted only 80,000 of its target 200,000 by the end of last year. ICON significantly failed in its primary purpose which was to be a "brand identity centre" for the Irish whiskey and cream liqueur.
Management at Gateway's European headquarters said yesterday job losses would be announced within two weeks. They would not confirm how many jobs were at risk.
Gateway, which set up in Ireland in 1993, is one of the IDA's biggest success stories. The Dublin plant was chosen as one of the venues for President Clinton's visit to Ireland in 1998.
The IDA described the job losses as "disappointing". A spokesman said the economy was heading for a certain amount of slowdown but they did not expect a major shock this year.
"There is always going to be job losses but we expect to create between 12-15,000 jobs this year," he added.
Irish jobs at other PC makers including Dell, Apple and Hewlett-Packard, are also under threat as their parent companies come under pressure in their home market.