3com linked with Irish jobs boost

NEWS Computer network maker 3com could move its switch manufacturing operations to Ireland after closing its Singapore-based manufacturing plant. The company will outsource production of its desktops, mobile products and servers to Flextronics - a Singapore-based high-tech manufacturing firm - but switch production will move to Ireland according to a report on newswire Bloomberg. 3com has not confirmed the move and a spokesman for the company said the jobs situation in Dublin will remain the same for time being. 3com, which posted a $518m loss in the last quarter, hopes to raise $32m from the sale of its Singapore plant. It will continue to use Singapore as a distribution centre. The news could be a welcome boost to the Celtic Tiger, which has lost over 1,500 technology jobs in the last week. Chip firm General Semiconductors announced the closure of its Irish plant on Monday with the loss of 680 jobs while computer manufacturer Gateway will let 900 Irish workers when it closes it Dublin-based European operations next month. Figures from the Industrial Development Authority, the government agency promoting foreign investment in Ireland, estimate that the country could lose up to 10 per cent of its multinational high-tech jobs by the end of this year.