THE SPOTLIGHT is firmly on one of Limerick's largest employers this weekend as fears grow that computer giant Dell plans to close some of its factories around the world.
Dell employs 4,500 staff in Ireland and 3,000 of those are located at its manufacturing facility in Limerick, including those in financial and marketing positions.
It has been estimated locally that upwards of 20,000 jobs in the midwest region are linked to the computer company through ancillary companies and contractors in the area.
Last year, the packaging company Ire-Tex was forced to close after it failed to secure another contract from Dell when the computer company decided to change its packaging. Dell provided 70 per cent of Ire-Tex's business in Limerick and the cancellation of the contract resulted in the loss of 80 jobs.
Ire-Tex had also been operating in Kildare and Meath for more than 30 years and some 200 jobs were lost in total.
A spokeswoman for Dell said yesterday the company would not be commenting on the article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, which suggested that the computer company is planning to sell most of its factories.
The report claimed the PC group is planning the sell-offs as part of a major overhaul to cut back on costs.
Dell's response was echoed by the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, which also refused to comment on the newspaper article.
The Mayor of Limerick, Cllr John Gilligan, however, called on Dell to put employees' minds at ease about the future of its Raheen facility in the city.
The mayor said he couldn't even "begin to believe" that Dell would pull out of Limerick given it is one of the company's most successful bases in the world.
"I don't think they'll pull the plug and walk away. I do believe, however, that if there is a downturn in the economy, there will be rationalisation," he said.
The dean of the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick, Prof Donal Dineen, remained optimistic yesterday about the future of the 3,000 manufacturing jobs in the city.
"If there is a decision by Dell to sell the plant, while it might in the long-term mean a bit more insecurity, in the short-term it could simply mean changing the manufacturing contract from one owner to another," said Prof Dinneen.
"If you're dealing with a very efficient plant then I don't think they would have any reason to start moving towards anything like a closure," he added.
