Dell axes 400 contract staff sparking fears of further cuts
Dell, one of the country's biggest employers, is to axe at least 400 temporary workers this weekend.
The computer giant last night confirmed to the Irish Independent that "several hundred temporary employees" are to be let go from their Limerick base.
Fears are now growing for the 3,000 full-time Dell employees at the Raheen manufacturing facility in Limerick and the 1,400 workers in the Dublin facility.
However, the company last night insisted the job losses will have no impact on the future of Dell's full-time workforce.
Today marks the end of the business quarter for Dell. The company last night said it is "standard practice" to let these employees go at the end of the cycle. The affected people worked in the production stage of the operation.
The Irish Independent understands some of the 400 workers who are to be laid off this weekend worked in the Limerick plant from periods ranging between three and 18 months.
Workers were informed that they may be re-employed on a temporary basis if production demand should require it. Dell retains all the contact details of the temporary staff it employs.
Many of the affected employees were heavily reliant on Dell for their incomes and the losses occur with just over seven weeks to go to Christmas.
However, Dell last night claimed there was "nothing unusual" in the lay-offs.
"Temporary workers usually finish up at the end of the quarter so that is what it is. It is standard practice.
Support
"The way the business model works is that temporary workers support the permanent workers as business requires them," a spokeswoman said.
"Some of them tend to finish up at the end of every quarter and that is what is happening here. Sometimes workers finish up and they are brought back again, that happens frequently.
"This does not include any of the 3,000 employees in Limerick. We never add temporary staff into that number.
"The number of temporary workers Dell employs varies on an ongoing basis. In terms of how many are finishing up at the end of the quarter, it is several hundred," she added.
In 1990, Dell opened a manufacturing base in Limerick to serve its European, Middle Eastern and African markets. It remains by far the biggest employer in the Mid-West region with workers in many families relying directly on Dell for their income.
It has received €75m in government grant assistance (€55m allocated to its Limerick plants) since the company first came to Ireland.
- Barry Duggan
