Intel reneges on Irish job cut promise
Chipzilla plans to slash between 200 and 300 jobs in Ireland, despite chairman Craig Barrett assuring Intel workers last month that its Leixlip plant was in no immediate danger of job cuts.
Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told us the cuts are part of the company's overall scheme of consolidating its manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. He added the preferred method for the workforce reduction will be through Intel's voluntary redundancy program.
Intel's Leixlip unit, which employs about 5,000 staff in Ireland, was believed to have dodged the first swing of the axe based on recent comments by Intel's outgoing chairman. "There is no immediate danger of job cuts in Ireland but nobody can predict the future," Barrett told RTE News late January. "This is one of the worst recessions we have ever seen, so we will take it day by day."
