Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea met Dell chief executive Michael Dell last Monday in an effort to secure thousands of jobs in the computer maker’s Limerick plant.
It has been reported that up to 2,000 jobs may be lost when the company cuts back on operations here next year. Dell’s new corporate strategy aims to achieve $3 billion in annualized cost savings by the end of 2011.
In a statement issued this evening Ms Coughlan said the meeting with Mr Dell had taken place in Austin, Texas. Mr Dell was accompanied by a number of his senior managers while Ms Coughlan and Mr O’Dea were accompanied by the Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Sean Gorman, and by the Chief Executive of IDA Ireland, Barry O’Leary.
”The company confirmed to the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence that it was pushing ahead with its cost saving plan. Weakening demand and associated cost pressures continue to put pressure on the company to implement its new strategy,” tonight’s statement said.
”Dell is continuing its internal consideration of exactly what its new strategy means for its operations in Limerick. The company has undertaken to communicate the details both to staff and to the Government as soon as it is in a position to do so.”
Ms Couglan said she and Mr O’Dea, whose constituency the Dell plant is in told Mr Dell ”the significant benefits that the Limerick operation brings to the company, the city and the region.
”For its part the company expressed its wish to continue to work with the IDA and the Government and agreed to revert to the Tánaiste as soon as it had finalised its detailed plans for the Limerick operations,” the statement added.
Labour Party TD for Limerick East, Jan O'Sullivan, said there had been "considerable concern" and uncertainty over the last number of months amongst both the workforce in Dell and the wider community over the future of the company there.
Fine Gael TD for Limerick East, Kieran O'Donnell said before Ms Coughlan’s statement was issued this afternoon that "a veil of Government secrecy" hung over Dell and its future in Limerick
"Loss of these jobs to Limerick and the mid-west region would be a devastating blow as Dell touches every part of the economy in this region where it pays into a yearly wage bill of over €140 million. On a national level Dell contributes around 5 per cent of Ireland's GNP and 4% of all expenditure in the economy."