UP TO 70 jobs are under threat in Athlone as Dell carries out a review of operations at its Alienware subsidiary which manufactures high-end gaming PCs.
Alienware has entered into a 30-day review with the approximately 70 staff in Athlone.
Last night a spokeswoman for the firm confirmed it was conducting a review of operations, and this was likely to involve the use of “third-party manufacturing partners and existing Dell facilities” to manufacture PCs.
At the beginning of the year Dell announced it would cease manufacturing computers in Limerick and move its facility to Lodz in Poland with the loss of 1,900 jobs. Fears were growing last night that the bulk of the Athlone jobs could suffer the same fate.
The spokeswoman said it was too early to say what the likely impact of the review might be on job numbers. “We hope to maintain a presence in Athlone, albeit on a smaller basis.”
Alienware sells into six countries and supports customers in four languages. The spokeswoman said the company intended to expand this to 35 countries and 17 languages. “We need to ensure we have the appropriate infrastructure in place to support that.”
Alienware was founded in 1996 in the US and initially focused on building high-performance PCs for gamers. It has subsequently expanded into media centres and corporate workstations.
The firm was wholly acquired by Dell in March 2006 for an undisclosed amount. At that time it had about 80 staff in Athlone but it is understood this has now fallen to 70. Dell was attracted by the high margins on Alienware machines which sell for up to €7,000.
Globally, Alienware has just over 700 staff. Last week it emerged that Dell would be seeking some 230 compulsory redundancies at its operations in Cherrywood, Co Dublin, and Limerick.
