3% drop in free zone employment

OVERALL employment at Shannon Free Zone declined by 3% last year, Shannon Development has revealed.
Five hundred and eighty jobs were lost, while 406 jobs were gained over the 12-month period.
Shannon Development chief executive Vincent Cunnane said while there is a decline, it is less serious than in other years. “We sort of hoped we had arrested that decline and we would have been more encouraged over the last year but we had thought we’d break even. There were jobs created in Zagg and Cregg but more jobs were lost.”
He said it was positive that the vast majority of job losses were not down to closures. “Major companies are having to deal with the impact of a huge global economic downturn. They’ve been dealing with it two-fold; they’ve been looking at their staff retirements and they’ve been bringing best practice into their operations; more efficient, best engineering practice and lean engineering. We’ve done a lot of work with companies in the last couple of years and they’re making themselves more sustainable into the future.”
He highlighted Element Six as a company that made cutbacks but recovered to an extent where it could provide new jobs again. “They had significant issues but they looked at all their processes and are back taking on people essentially. If we’d lost them a few years ago that opportunity wouldn’t have arisen. Any sort of downsizing has implications for the people involved but if you keep the company, there’s always the opportunity for restructuring and re-employment.”
Jobs are not being lost in the numbers they once were, Dr Cunnane added. “Job losses are stabilising and we have arrested that decline,” he said.
In all, 90% of job losses came about as the result of downsizing, not closures, according to Shannon Development. It also stated that during 2011, it secured 19 itineraries from prospective new clients, seven of which were generated in partnership with IDA Ireland.
Shannon Development approved financial supports to Free Zone companies last year, which will leverage investments of €13 million by the companies. Twenty Free Zone companies received support packages across key areas such as R&D, training and marketing.
In its statement, Shannon Development said the Free Zone is still playing an important local role. “Despite the economic downturn, Shannon Free Zone continues to be a strong revenue generator for the local economy. Companies based at the Free Zone collectively contribute over €600 million to the Irish and Shannon Region economies annually in areas such as staff payroll, materials and services.
“A new broadband initiative at Shannon Free Zone is set to provide a significant boost to business in the area and give Shannon Development a valuable marketing tool to strengthen its case for foreign direct investment. A new dark fibre-optic cable will give businesses operating in the Free Zone and Smithstown Business Parks the opportunity to avail of enhanced high-speed broadband services improving national and international connectivity. The new service is being provided by Aurora Telecom, a division of Bord Gáis Networks. Shannon Development worked with Aurora to extend their planned Ennis to Cork fibre project to include the Shannon Free Zone and Smithstown Business Parks. Work on the project is due for completion by the end of April this year.”