The pharmaceutical company, Elan, may be about to announce it is to establish a manufacturing facility at the former GSI electronics plant at Macroom in County Cork. That facility closed last year with the loss of 670 jobs.
It is understood that Elan's investment will run to tens of millions of euro and more than 200 jobs are to be created at the plant which will manufacture a treatment for Multiple Sclerosis.
The announcement that the GSI plant was to close was a devastating blow for Macroom and the surrounding area. The plant, which manufactured electronic components for the computer, car and telecoms industries, had been the main employer in the area for almost 20 years. Its contribution to the local economy every year was almost €23 million in wages and salaries alone.
By the time the last of the workers were let go in mid-December, a task force had been put in place to find a replacement for GSI and to market the 120,000-square foot factory.
GSI executives in Macroom have issued invitations to a function at the plant at mid-day tommorrow where, they say, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will make an announcement about the future of the facility.
