Telecommunications company Ericsson is seeking another 150 redundancies in Ireland.
Ericsson told its workforce in Athlone this morning an additional 150 voluntary redundancies were needed from the company's two plants in Ireland, at Clonskeagh in Dublin and Athlone in Co Westmeath.
It has made over 200 Irish workers redundant in the past two years on a voluntary basis.
Last month, the company, which employs 1,850 at its Dublin and Athlone plants, said it would have to cut 17,000 staff worldwide.
Ericsson has been hit by declining orders for 2G mobile phones, but it has seen strong growth in orders from 3G network providers. The company is shipping 3G systems to over 30 operators and claims a 60 per cent share in all 3G orders.
Ericsson saw a growth rate of between 20 per cent and 25 per cent. It stands by its long-term forecast of 1.6 billion mobile subscribers by the end of 2005.