This article is from page 13 of the 2008-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
A MAJOR jobs announcement for Shannon is expected today (Tuesday) with Enterprise Minister Micheal Martin (right) arriving in town.
The minister is to announce an in- vestment by an international player in the medical device manufacturing arena at 3pm today at the Park Inn Hotel at Shannon Airport.
The jobs announcement is being described as “significant” according to sources close to the free zone but both the department and Shannon Development have remained tight- lipped on details in advance of to- day’s announcement.
The good news on the Shannon jobs front comes at a time when work- ers at two Shannon manufacturing companies have expressed concerns about the future of their jobs.
Staff at Unbrako Europe S.P.S. International Limited voted in fa- vour of industrial action last week. Members of the SIPTU and TWU unions, are angry at what they say is the company’s continued failure to inform them about widely rumoured but unconfirmed moves to sell the company. SPS is a subsidiary of US based Precision Castparts Corp (PCC) which according to sources is involved in negotiations to sell the Shannon operation. The company
produces socket screws and other fasteners for industrial machinery and equipment.
A former PCC subsidiary, Mohawk Europa, also based in Shannon but sold off by PCC some years ago, closed last August with the loss of 90 jobs. Meanwhile, workers at another PCC company in Shannon, Highlife Tools, are also concerned about their future and are monitoring the SPS situation closely.
A SIPTU spokesperson said yester- day, “With all the rumours and sto- ries going around and in the absence of any information from the compa- ny, our members are understandably concerned for the future.”