As the Taoiseach Mr Ahern was opening the latest element of Xerox's $700 million (€776 million) investment programme in Ireland yesterday, the company's embattled chief executive was stepping down in New York.
Mr Rick Thoman resigned under pressure from the company's board after a troubled year that has seen the office equipment company's stock tumble by more than 50 per cent.
Under Mr Thoman, Xerox has stumbled in its efforts to reinvent itself as a maker of digital copiers and printers linked to computer networks, rather than the standalone analog copiers on which its business was founded.
The former IBM chief financial officer has been blamed by investors for the company's failure to push through successfully the strategy that was begun by his predecessor and current chairman, Mr Paul Allaire.
Mr Ahern was officially opening the group's centralised customer and financial services support centre for Europe in Blanchardstown, Dublin. The ceremony coincided with the launch of its new manufacturing facility in Dundalk.
Xerox Ireland has been the recipient of more than two-thirds of Xerox International's $1 billion global restructuring programme, which has seen it centralise many of its worldwide operations in the Republic.
Xerox Europe currently employs 1,300 people in Dublin. It said it will employ 2,000 people manufacturing inkjet printers and multifunctional devices at the Dundalk plant by 2003. There are 700 people employed there now, with 10 per cent of the workforce from Northern Ireland.
According to Mr Aidan Donnelly, general manager of Ireland operations for Xerox Europe, the company had expected to draw nearly 20 per cent of its Dundalk workforce from Northern Ireland, but the strength of sterling is preventing it from doing so.
"We plan to employ more people from Northern Ireland if sterling ever comes back and helps us out," Mr Donnelly said. Over three years, Xerox's capital investment here has been around $420 million, and according to Mr Donnelly, it will reach $700 million by the time the Dundalk manufacturing facility has been completed.
The company's programme of global reorganisation has been implemented to transform Xerox from a photocopier business to a leading edge IT company. The centralised operations are designed to allow Xerox reduce its operational costs dramatically.
Xerox's 57 call centres throughout Europe will now be housed within one call centre in Dundalk. Where the company was using around 15 different accounting packages across Europe, it will now operate a single SAP application from Dublin.
All of Xerox Europe's internal financial and accounting systems, as well as technical and customer support operations for Europe will be serviced through the European Business Support Centre.
The massive recruitment exercise has extended far into Europe. According to Mr John Xerri, Xerox Europe's human resources director, the EU needs to do more to allow citizens move easily across borders by standardising pensions' portability and tax regulations issues.
