NEC to shut down Meath plant with loss of 350 jobs

Some 350 jobs will be lost – 300 full-time and 50 part-time.

In a statement, parent company NEC Electronics Corporation said the decision came down to the increasingly high operating costs.

Kenji Yamashiro, NEC Semiconductors Ireland managing director, informed the hundreds of employees of the closure today.

“We are very proud of the quality of the work and the legacy of NEC Semiconductors Ireland, and appreciate the efforts of everyone at the Ballivor plant,” he said.

“Our immediate concern is the welfare of our employees, and we will do everything we can to make this transition as easy as possible for them.

“We would like to thank the Irish Government and IDA Ireland for their strong support throughout our 30-year history.”

NEC Electronics said it was forecasting group operating losses for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, and has been stepping up cost-cutting measures to improve its financial performance.

The decision to cease production at Ballivor is one of these measures, the company said.

The closure came as a shock to staff, with the company giving no indication over the last few months that it was facing such troubling trading difficulties.

But John Regan, SIPTU regional branch secretary, said the job cuts proved Ireland could no longer compete with the economies of Asia and Eastern Europe where costs are a fraction of what they are here.

“We cannot compete in the race to the bottom when it comes to pay and conditions of employment,” he said.

“Although the company had been trading badly in recent times it had returned to profitability. And with very few prospects of alternative employment for the NEC workers, the loss of so many jobs will have a very damaging effect on the local economy.”

NEC Semiconductors is a subsidiary of Japanese manufacturing giant NEC Electronics. With 26 subsidiaries NEC employs almost 24,000 workers worldwide based at 12 plants in Japan and 14 others across the globe.

Ballivor operations will be consolidated into operations at other international plants with lower operating costs, allowing the firm to cut its global manufacturing costs while maintaining capacity and competitiveness.

Damien English, Fine Gael TD for Meath West, said the closure was a devastating blow for the county.

“This is just the latest example of the Government’s neglect of the county, which is rapidly turning into a commuter wasteland. More job losses will force even more people out of the county in search of work,” Mr English said.

Mr English said with 50 IDA backed jobs lost every year there was now an overwhelming need for tax incentives to revitalise the Meath economy.

The company said it had initiated discussions with union leaders and state agencies on compensation packages and support services, to ensure that the impact to employees, their families and the local community and economy is minimised.

NEC has been based in the Co Meath village for 30 years employing people from the local area and was one of the first IDA backed companies to come to Ireland.

The majority of the workforce are believed to be aged around 40 and half of the employees are thought to have been with the company for around 10 years.

The plant will remain operational through to September 2006 to fulfil existing production commitments to customers.

Hideto Goto, executive vice president in charge of manufacturing at NEC Electronics, noted that the international semiconductor market was extremely competitive.

“The decision to close the Ballivor plant was a very difficult one, but after considerable analysis, we concluded that we could not justify the high cost of keeping it open,” he said.

“This is an unfortunate but necessary step to ensure our competitiveness.”