Minister for Enterprise Mícheál Martin has told the Cabinet that US multinational Intel does not plan any further job losses after it moved to make 200 staff voluntarily redundant.
The computer chip manufacturer, which is the biggest private-sector employer in the State, said it was seeking the job cuts in order to maintain its competitiveness in the face of increasing cost pressures.
Seen as a bellwether for the economy at large, Intel and its subcontractors employ 5,150 people at its plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare. The development follows a spate of job losses earlier this year at the Irish plants of big international groups such as Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Motorola, O2 and Vodafone.
"Intel Ireland needs to remain competitive and agile in a dynamic marketplace. While this action is very difficult, it is essential that we face up to and respond to the competitive challenges," said Intel Ireland general manager Jim O'Hara.
"We continue to be a critical asset for Intel Corporation and we are all committed to ensuring our success in the long haul. The most effective way to do this is to benchmark ourselves aggressively against our global competition and ensure we deliver a unique advantage from Ireland."
Asked whether the redundancies might herald further job cuts, Intel's chief spokesman in Ireland indicated that there was no threat to the operation. "The purpose of taking this action is to make us more agile and efficient not only this year but for years to come," he said.
Described as a strategically important investor, Intel's total investment in Ireland stands at about $7 billion (€5.02 billion). The group has also been a beneficiary of significant grant assistance from IDA Ireland, the inward investment agency.
News of the redundancies emerged as two other US firms promised to create up to 350 jobs. Medical technology firm Kinetic Concepts plans to hire up to 250 new staff in Athlone in the next five years and Blizzard Entertainment, which makes software for computer games, plans to hire up to 100 in Cork in the next three years.
But Fine Gael's newly appointed enterprise spokesman, Leo Varadkar, said the redundancies at Intel were "a grim indicator" of Ireland's declining competitiveness. "Intel has been integral to Ireland's economic success story, and its presence in Ireland is essential to attracting further high-end jobs," he said.
Mr Varadkar said Ireland had lost 30,000 manufacturing jobs in the last five years. "High-tech exporters are no longer contributing to Irish economic growth, which was so crucial in the 1990s. Ireland's share of international trade has fallen by over a third since 2002."
However, IDA Ireland's spokeswoman said the body did not regard the development as an economic indicator. "We don't see it as a cause of concern. It's very much an internal restructuring."
Mr Martin said at a briefing for Cabinet colleagues that Intel's management had told IDA Ireland that the job losses, while necessary, did not raise the prospect of further redundancies.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Minister played down the significance of the development. "I think we need to keep perspective all the time. We're looking at 200 redundancies in the context of 5,000 positions. That's the context," he said.
Kildare Labour TD Emmet Stagg noted the redundancies followed job losses at Thomson Scientific and Bourns Electronic. "The Government appears to have become complacent, with no attempts being made to identify jobs at risk or to intervene to try to save them. They need to address this problem as a matter of urgency," he said.