Cork job losses will have ‘knock-on' effect in the city and the region

A Cork TD has called on IDA Ireland to step in and support people with replacement tech jobs in Cork, with approximately 500 employees in the sector facing redundancy over the coming weeks.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry raised concerns at a meeting of the Oireachtas enterprise trade and employment committee yesterday which was attended by the new IDA chairman Fergal O’Rourke.

Referring to the expected 364 job losses at VMware and 136 expected job losses at Blizzard, Mr Barry asked Mr O’Rourke about the IDA’s plans for replacement investment and replacement jobs in the tech sector in Cork.

Mr Barr said the redundancies will “have a knock-on effect in the city and the region”.

“We’re going to have a lot of people, many of them with families, with kids, with mortgages, coming out into the tech job market at precisely the same time,” said Mr Barry.

“Do you accept that there is a particular pinch point in relation to tech jobs in the Cork area in the next couple of months, and what steps have been taken or are going to be taken now in order to find replacement jobs and replacement investment there?” he asked Mr O’Rourke.

In response to the Cork TD’s questions, Mr O’Rourke said he suspects employers in Cork who are doing very well in the tech sector “might well be out on the lookout” for talent.

“If that number of people are going to come on the market in Cork, I’d be very hopeful that a lot of them will be able to walk straight into jobs elsewhere, but you can take it that the IDA will be aware and will be working on this to see how, on an overall basis, we can get them back into employment again,” he said.

Mr Barry further called for “active intervention”, to which Mr O’Rourke replied: “The normal course of action when something like this happens is IDA get involved straight away with the company and with associated companies to say: ‘Hey, can we help you out here with people coming on the jobs market, and with EI [Enterprise Ireland]?’ So, it will take place.”

Speaking to The Echo following the Oireachtas committee meeting, Mr Barry commented: “I will be watching very carefully to see that the IDA delivers for the 500 tech workers in Cork who will be coming out into the jobs market very soon now.

“Cork needs new jobs with good wages, good conditions and with trade union rights too.”