Dell slashes 1,900 jobs in Ireland

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Dell, the world’s second largest maker of personal computers, announced on Thursday its plans to cut 1,900 of 3,000 jobs at its plant in Co. Limerick, Ireland. It also announced the decision to move its European manufacturing base from Ireland to Poland.

The plant in Ireland is the largest plant of Dell outside of the U.S. The manufacturing migration will be completed in a phased transition during 2009.

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, Dell said in a statement.

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.

“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.”

Affected workers will receive a 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 minimize the impact on them,” said Corkery. “We appreciate the support from the Irish government and the people of Limerick over these many years.”

The monthly minimum wage in Poland is $406, compared with over $2,000 in Ireland.

Dell cut more than 8,000 jobs last year but has still struggled to regain market share it lost to larger rival Hewlett-Packard. It also said last year it would outsource more manufacturing to cut costs, according to a Reuters report.

The job cut announcement of Dell follows a similar announcement on Wednesday by China's PC maker Lenovo, which said it would cut 2,500 jobs.

The decision of Dell to move our of Ireland is seen as a blow to the country's troubled economy.