DELL IN LIMERICK starts reducing its manufacturing presence this week, when 450 workers leave its Raheen factory. The workers are the first to depart under a restructuring plan that will result in 1900 lay-offs in Ireland and an upsurge in activity in Poland. The departing workers receive six weeks' pay per year of service, capped at a total of 104 weeks. This is better than many manufacturing line workers get in the States when they're let go. I'm still wondering how Fas outplacement service and relevant training will spin up to help re-establish ex-Dell workers back into full-time employment. Getting work for more than 2000 people (more than 600 jobs outside of Dell are directly dependent upon the Raheen facility packing and shipping computers) will challenge planners from Limerick through Tipperary, a corridor I travel regularly. We plan to meet up with more ex-Dell workers throughout the summer, during Limerick OpenCoffee sessions held on the first Thursday of every month in the Absolute Hotel.
Photo from my Flickr photostream. It seemed like a redundant factory piece when I spotted it in Limerick.
