GE Money to cut 130 jobs in Shannon

50 jobs are expected to be lost at the GE Money company in Shannon, and a further 15 at its base in Dublin, as a result of company restructuring.

The company is involved in the sale of financial products including insurance, mortgages, car and personal loans, financial brokerage and equipment finance leasing.

178 people are employed by the company in the Shannon Free Zone, and staff have been told that a number of jobs will be affected by a decision to restructure its business.

This will mean the discontinuation of a number of products handled by GE Capital Solutions, and the transfer of other products and operations to GE Money Ireland.

A 30-day consultation process has begun with staff who are affected by the changes, and they say they hope to redeploy as many as possible where vacancies exist in the company.

The company says they need to restructure their Irish business in response to the economic environment, which has remained challenging and where the outlook is unclear, but added that they are committed to keeping a significant operation in Shannon.

They say the restructuring announcement will have no impact on existing mortgages, personal loans, care finance agreements and insurance policies held in Ireland.

Workers at Teva, one of the biggest pharmaceutical factories in Waterford, were told by management this morning that 315 jobs are to go at the plant.

The plant manufactures inhalers and tablets. It is understood that tablet production will cease at the factory within 12 months.

Teva is one of the biggest pharmaceutical employers in the south-east and this morning staff gathered at the company’s facilities on the IDA industrial estate in Waterford for a meeting senior management.

Teva employs a total of 730 workers. Staff had only been told about the meeting yesterday, and those in the tablet-making section in particular were worried.

The redundancies will be a mixture of voluntary and compulsory and details of redundancy packages have not yet been released.

In a statement released today, the firm said it took the decision ‘due to the challenges of operating in a high cost and difficult economic environment in Ireland.’

It is understood much of the manufacturing of tablets currently being made here will be transferred to a factory the company has in Hungary.

Drugs manufacturer Elan is to make 29 workers redundant at its plant in Athlone.
The move follows a decision by Eli-Lilly to end production of the drug Duloxetine at the Elan plant in Monksland outside Athlone. The company says the redundancies will be voluntary.

It is the second time in recent months that the Elan Corporation has sought redundancies. Elan employs more than 500 people at its plants in Dublin and Athlone.

Bausch & Lomb has confirmed it is seeking 120 redundancies at its Waterford plant.
The plant currently employs 1,200 people manufacturing contact lenses and other eye health products.
The announcement came after management met staff and union representatives last night and this morning.

Eircom says it has agreed a restructuring deal with union representatives which will result in 1,200 jobs being cut over the next two years.

The telecoms company says the agreement also includes a two-year pay freeze – until June 2011 – and cuts of around 25% in some staff allowances such as subsistence and mileage rates. There will be no performance-related bonuses this year and in the following two years.

Eircom says the deal is the first stage of a restructuring programme, and that further talks on additional measures will start ‘immediately’. The company wants to save €130m a year by the 2010/2011 financial year.

The company is asking for voluntary pay cuts of 10% for management and 5% for other staff. It says that though these are voluntary, it considers them ‘essential’.

The Communications Workers’ Union said the redundancies would be voluntary, and that if they were compulsory, it would be unacceptable.

Cathal Magee, acting group CEO, said the company and union representatives had shown a willingness to make ‘difficult but necessary decisions to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Eircom’.

Eircom had signalled that it was seeking more cost cuts when it released half-year results in February. These showed customer numbers and traffic volumes down for the six months to the end of December.

Last month, the Eircom board also said it is confident it could find an alternative to the proposal from a group of Australian businessman to buy the company. Eircom’s board opposes that approach, led by Rob Topfer, who was involved in the takeover of Eircom in 2006.

DHL is seeking 320 redundancies as it closes depots in Athlone, Galway, Sligo, Cavan, Enniscorthy, Waterford and Tralee.

Company representatives are to meet unions on Monday morning, and a DHL Express spokeswoman said the redundancy package offered would be “generous and in line with best practice”.

DHL Express is the courier operation of Europe’s biggest mail and express delivery company, Deutsche Post DHL. DHL employs some 300,000 people in more than 220 countries.

The company operates four divisions in Ireland, which altogether employ 1,600 people.

GE Healthcare has announced that 50 jobs will be lost, over the coming 12 months, at its plant in Carrigtwohill in Co Cork. To company representative said that half of the total number of the redundancies are expected to be voluntary.

Tyrone cutting further 90 jobs

A Tyrone engineering company is to make 90 people redundant .

Dungannon-based Powerscreen had already made 70 workers redundant at the end of last year, following a drop in orders. Today the company announced a further 90 redundancies from its strong 490 staff.

Ulster Bank Group is to absorb the business of First Active, formerly the First National Building Society, with the loss of 750 jobs. 550 jobs are to go at its operations in the Republic and a further 200 in Northern Ireland.

In 2003 First Active was acquired by Ulster Bank Limited, part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The redundancies are part of a move by Ulster Bank Group to merge its specialist mortgage and investment arm, First Active, with Ulster Bank.

Following the merger, the First Active brand will disappear and all First Active customers will be automatically transferred to Ulster Bank.

Ulster Bank Group, a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Scotland, employs 7,000 people in both the Republic and in Northern Ireland.

First Active has 60 branches in Dublin and the larger towns and cities, employing more than 400 people.

There is also a nationwide network of Ulster Bank branches, which was a good idea in the boom when lenders aggressively sought to build their loan books, but it is of little value in a recession.

All 60 First Active branches will be closed.

In locations where there is both a First Active branch and an Ulster Bank branch, one of the branches will be closed and the other will be branded Ulster Bank. In 15 First Active branches (in locations where there is no Ulster Bank already nearby), the branch will be converted to an Ulster Bank.

Aer Arann is to cut its workforce by up to 25 per cent as it looks to reduce costs by seeking up to 100 redundancies.
The firm says that the cost-reduction programme is “being implemented to ensure the airline’s long-term future”, and it will lead to an increasing concentration on the charter and “wet lease” programme it introduced during the summer, whereby Aer Arann provides aircraft, crews and maintenance to other airlines.
Although the firm’s key routes will be unaffected by the development, it will lead to a reduction in the airline’s marginal scheduled services.
The airline currently employs more than 400 people and the programme will “likely” lead to a reduction in staff numbers of up to 100 people.
However, the firm said that redundancies for flight crew and engineers “may reduce, depending on the progressive introduction of new charter and wet lease business”.

Arnotts have announced that they will be making 600 retail workers redundant. They are planning to invest 750m redeveloping their Henry Street store. When finished it will employ approx 1200 staff.