As expected this morning, Dell announced that 1,900 jobs would be migrated from their Raheen plant to their newest Polish facility and to third party manufacturing units abroad.
Sean Corkery, vice president of operations EMEA and a senior Dell figure in Limerick, delivered the announcement this morning and said that the jobs migration was part of the company’s 3 billion dollar global review
that would see them adopt cost saving measures. Dell said that this was necessary to remain competitive and increase customer satisfaction. Over 1,000 jobs are to remain at the Limerick facility.
An official press statement was released just after 9.15 am on Thursday morning where the company stated that a “competitive severance packages” would be offerred to the staff and that onward employment assistance would be afforded and every effort made to ease this transition.
The 1,900 jobs will be migrated to Poland between April and November of this year with the transition completed by January 2010.
Dell cut more than 8,000 jobs last year and struggled to regain market share it lost to larger rival Hewlett-Packard Co. It also said last year it would outsource more manufacturing to cut costs.
The full statement is as follows:
DELL TO MIGRATE MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS FROM IRELAND TO POLAND AND PARTNERS BY EARLY 2010
Limerick, Ireland, Jan. 8th, 2009 — Dell will migrate all production of computer systems for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) from Limerick to its Polish facility and third-party manufacturing partners over the next year.
The manufacturing migration will be completed in a phased transition during 2009 and is among a series of steps Dell is taking to simplify operations, improve productivity, reduce costs and deliver even higher levels of customer satisfaction. The move is part of a $3 billion cost-reduction initiative the company announced last year and is being made as a result of an ongoing comprehensive review of Dell’s global supply chain.
“We are proud of our 18-year tenure as a major manufacturer in Ireland,” said Sean Corkery, vice president of operations, EMEA. “This is a difficult decision, but the right one for Dell to become even more competitive, and deliver greater value to customers in the region.”
Dell expects to reduce its Limerick manufacturing workforce by about 1,900 employees over the next 12 months. The initial release of employees will occur in April, with the full transition expected to be completed by January 2010. Affected workers will receive competitive severance package and career outplacement assistance as they transition from the company.
“We will treat affected employees with dignity and respect and offer them every practical support through this extended transition period to minimise the impact on them,” said Mr. Corkery. “We appreciate the support from the Irish government and the people of Limerick over these many years.”
Dell’s employees in Limerick will continue to coordinate EMEA manufacturing, logistics and supply chain activities across a range of functions including product development, engineering, procurement and logistics. The company’s Global Innovation Solutions Centre and EMEA Command Centre will remain in Limerick. Dell continues its significant sales, marketing and support activities in Cherrywood, Dublin.
