Polish Dell workers in Ireland not tempted by firm’s move to Poland

JOBS AT computer giant Dell may be moving from Ireland to Poland, but this country’s Poles are unlikely to be enticed.

About 1,000 new jobs are planned in Łódź after Dell announced a manufacturing relocation from Limerick, which is losing 1,900 of its 3,000 posts.
Recruitment to the Łódź plant is set to start in April, but for Polish employees in Ireland the offer has dubious value.
“As far as I know the stakes in Limerick were €10-€14 per person last July while in Łódź it is €3-€4,” said Tomasz KorczyÅ„ski, advisor in the Polish Financial Centre Money Expert in Dublin.
“Economically, for Dell the calculation is clear. Both me and you would take up this decision if in their position.”
In August 2007 around 450 Polish trainees were sent to Limerick’s Dell plant from Łódź, which had activated production lines a month previously, in a move that signalled Dell’s intentions. Dell intends to complete the relocation of manufacturing operations from Limerick to Poland by early 2010.
In a press release, Sean Corkery, vice president of operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and director of the Łódź factory said: “This was a difficult decision, but the right one for Dell to become even more competitive, and deliver greater value to customers in the region.”
The relocation itself should not signal the end of Dell’s Ireland operations, according to some observers.
“The main point is that it is not generally sustainable for most high-wage countries to support this kind of low margin assembly line mass-production activity,” said one source, who worked with Dell. “The factories that do stay in western Europe tend to be highly automated with very little actual staff  – Pharma being the best example I know of.”
A spokesperson for Dell confirmed that Polish staff would have the opportunity to apply for jobs in Łódź. However, local people are to be equally considered.
The company announced that its Global Innovation Solutions Centre and EMEA Command Centre will remain in Limerick, while sales, marketing and support activities are to be continued at its Cherrywood premises in Dublin.
Last November Dell was recognised at the 2008 Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards for its commitment to diversity in the workplace.