GE and Tecnoman to shed jobs-Aer Lingus staff on standby
THE SHANNON area was dealt a triple blow this week. The long established GE Capital are seeking to make 50 people redundant with the possibility of more to follow in the New Year.
Shannon, telecommunications company Tecnotree, formerly Tecnoman, are seeking 80 redundancies.
And a leading trade union official has warned that Shannon airport will be impacted by Aer Lingus decision to cut their workforce by 676.
GE Capital and Tecnotree called their employees to meetings this week and informed them the redundancies will be decided next month.
In a statement, Techno said the reduction in staff was needed due to current economic conditions and a decrease in demand. Mayor of Shannon, Sean McLoughlin, described the news on all fronts as bad blows for Shannon.
“As regards Aer Lingus, I fear that Shannon will take the brunt”.
He said that bad management and poor decisions by the airline over the last 30 years, meant that cabin crew at Shannon would now suffer.
GE Capital which employs 280 people in Ireland, will also let go 15 people from their Dublin business.
The exact number of redundancies will be confirmed over the coming weeks during a consultation process with staff.
McLoughlin added:
“I know a number of people working in both companies and the issue is very sensitive at present.
“The companies have used the famous phrase of ‘going into consultancy’ and people are fearful of making comment about the situation in case in puts their own jobs in jeopardy.
“This is more sad news for Shannon and the region, and these cutbacks make us all nervous that GE will leave completely. The company is known as an excellent employer, and considered ‘clean’, because they are good to staff and good to the environment.
“At one time, everyone was getting loans to buy new cars, etc, but this isn’t the case anymore and GE Money are suffering from this drop off.
“With all these jobs to go, it will mean an increasing number of individuals and families in the town will suffer, and on top of the recent news of jobs cuts at Aer Lingus, it is a hard pill to swallow”.
Last year, GE shed a similar number of jobs in both Shannon and Dublin, and in recent times have closed some departments at their Shannon operation.
Shannon airport will be significantly affected by Aer Lingus job losses announced this week, according to a senior trade union official.
The source said: “They will have a significant impact. However, because details have not been announced, we are not sure to what extent”.
The company stated that 489 job cuts will be made from pilots, cabin crew and ground staff while the remaining 187 job cuts will be made to back office operations.
Tony Carroll of SIPTU’s Shannon Aviation Branch said: “We don’t know for sure how we will be affected as no specifics have been announced”.
Mr Carroll fears another transatlantic route may be axed as part of the plan.
An Aer Lingus employee at Shannon told the Limerick Post they had been conditioned to redundancies.
“We saw this coming down the line, and now we must wait and see how many will be affected”.
Niall Shanahan a spokesperson for IMPACT trade union, who represent 1,400 of the 3,800 currently employed by Aer Lingus, commented: “We’ve been expecting this for a while as the new chief executive said on his appointment he would be making savings by amputation rather than cosmetic surgery”.
