More than 14,000 people were notified of redundancy in the nine months to October, an increase of almost 40 per cent on the same period last year. In addition, IDA Ireland last night warned that further job losses in the multinational sector were inevitable.
Statistics compiled by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment suggest that the number of job losses announced this year will be the highest since 1993. They show 14,031 people were notified of redundancy up to October. This compares to just 10,145 notified redundancies in the same period of 2000.
The actual number of job losses may be even greater than this because official statistics do not account for redundancies at many small firms. Companies are supposed to notify the Government of redundancies, but not all small operations do so.
IDA Ireland said last night that further job losses among multinational firms located in the Republic were inevitable. An IDA spokesman said 10 per cent of workers at the State agency's client firms had already lost their jobs this year. The total number of job losses in this sector could reach between 8,000 and 10,000 by the end of the year, he added.
The largest single redundancy programme was announced by Gateway Computers in September. The company said it would close its manufacturing hub in Clonshaugh, Dublin, with the loss of more than 900 jobs.
But scores of other technology firms have announced significant job losses this year as global demand for electronics and telecoms equipment has slumped. This steadily increasing list includes Intel, Dell, Eircom and Baltimore Technologies. The IDA is not forecasting a recovery in the information and communications technology sector until at least the summer of 2002. A spokesman said the agency would be satisfied if it could maintain current employment levels of 141,000 at its client firms.
No official figures are yet available on the number of new jobs created from foreign direct investment this year.
The global economic slowdown has also resulted in hundreds of job losses in traditional industries. Earlier this year, Kylemore Bakery shut with the loss of 317 jobs.
July was the worst month for job losses this year, with just under 2,000 people being notified of redundancy.