Dell quits Irish production

Simon Aron: Many other manufacturers have done this, so I do not think this will make much difference

Dell has headed off months of speculation by announcing that it will migrate all production for EMEA customers from Ireland to its facility in Poland and third-party manufacturing partners.

The cost-busting migration, which will be completed in a phased transition during 2009, will result in the loss of about 1,900 jobs at Dell’s Limerick base.

Speculation first surfaced that Dell would shut down its Irish assembly activities back in September, causing consternation among local politicians. The initial release of employees will occur in April.

Dell stressed that employees based in Limerick will continue to co-ordinate EMEA manufacturing, logistics and supply chain activities across a range of functions, including product development, engineering, procurement and logistics.

Sean Corkery, Dell's vice president of operations, EMEA, said: “We are proud of our 18-year tenure as a major manufacturer in Ireland. This is a difficult decision, but the right one for Dell to become even more competitive, and deliver greater value to customers in the region.”

Simon Aron, managing director of Dell partner Eurodata, said it was unlikely the move would affect the vendor’s channel partners.

“So many other manufacturers have done this. Some have moved product to China, never mind Poland, so I do not think this will make much difference,” he said. “If the channel back-office staff were moved it would make more of a difference because that would cause us problems.”