Intel plans 2-week shutdown of Irish plant
Tuesday September 24, 9:50 am ET
DUBLIN, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. computer chip giant Intel said on Tuesday it had requested more than 3,000 staff at its key Irish manufacturing plant to take two weeks holiday at Christmas in order to help it cut costs.
The company, which employs 3,200 people directly and 1,000 contractors at its semiconductor facility outside Dublin, said the move reflected market conditions.
"Clearly the market is tough at the moment and this for us is an effective way of saving costs," said Intel Ireland spokesman Frank Turpin.
Intel's plant at Leixslip, County Kildare, is the company's main chip production site for the European market, and a keystone of foreign investment in Ireland.
While Intel stressed its Irish operations remained secure, the fact the plant will effectively shut down between December 22 and January 5 will further unnerve economists already worried about the rapidly cooling Irish economy.
Massive inflows of foreign, largely U.S., investment underpinned Ireland's so-called "Celtic Tiger" boom which began to run out of steam last year.
Turpin said the company was asking people to either take leave owed from this year, pull in leave from next year or take voluntary time off without pay.
"We call it a 'warm-down' -- which basically means the plant will be ticking over but not actually producing," he said.
Intel came to Ireland in 1989 and began manufacturing semiconductors at its 350-acre Leixslip site in 1992.
The factory is currently undergoing expansion, with a new automated production unit due onstream in 2004. |
