JOB FEARS AT DUBLIN'S XILINX - It is understood that more than 100 jobs are to go at technology firm Xilinx at Dublin's CityWest. Management will brief staff this morning where developments at the business will be outlined. The company has 400 staff. The jobs likely to be cut are skilled electronic engineers and technicians. Dublin is the company's European headquarters where it operates a research and development, operations and engineering centre. It makes programmable microchips for use in electronic systems, like TV set top boxes and satellites. This time last year the company said it was creating jobs by setting up a new global development division in Dublin.
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JOBS STILL OUT THERE DESPITE THE RECESSION - The National Recruitment Federation is calling for a revival of the spirit, energy and gutsy innovation for which Ireland was once praised. Its president Frank Collins says that people are getting off the Live Register. According to a survey conducted by the Federation in the last week in March, over 420 got permanent jobs in one week alone while another 550 got temporary places. Mr Collins says that some of the temporary jobs are cover for maternity leave and the like, while some are due to seasonal factors but many of them are where firms have cut too much at the start of the recession and now realise that they do need labour. They look to temporary workers in the beginning, in the hope that as things improve, those temporary jobs will turn into permanent jobs. Mr Collins says that while large companies are not making big job announcements, firms are still recruiting in small numbers. Jobs are still being created in the construction and financial services sectors, he states, despite the recession.
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FARMERS CALL ON GLANBIA TO REVERSE MILK DECISION - 4,000 dairy farmers supply the agri-business giant Glanbia with milk. last night and this morning some of those farmers are protesting. They are asking Glanbia to reverse its decision to cut the price it pays the farmer for a litre of milk to 20 cent from 23 cent. The farmers say that it costs them 27 cent a litre to produce, and want Glanbia to dip into its profits to help support the producers. The protest attracted about 1,400 farmers in Dungarvan last night, a big crowd is expected for Kilkenny today. Glanbia has said the world market for dairy is deteriorating, that it is likely to remain weak and volatile, and that the weakness in the market is untenable for both producers and processors.
Richard Kennedy, the Irish Farmers Association Dairy Committee Chairman, says that dairy farmers who supply Glanbia are facing unprecedented financial difficulties. He says it is not unreasonable for dairy farmers and their families to expect corporate Glanbia to share some of the pain. While there is trouble in the market place, Mr Kennedy says that for a company the size of GlanBia - with its scale and product mix - it could pay more than 20 cent a litre. He urges the firm to rise to the top of the group of processors paying the best prices in Ireland instead of being the worst. He points out that many smaller co-ops throughout the country are paying farmers more than Glanbia is currently paying out.
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MORNING BRIEFS - The world's biggest maker of computer chips, Intel, says the worst may be over for the IT industry. It said sales of personal computers hit rock bottom in the first three months of the year, but it believes things are now returning to normal. But it said it was too early to give guidance for sales for the months ahead. It recorded sales of $7.1 billion for January, February and March, which was slightly higher than analysts expectations. Intel controls 80% of the world microprocessor market.
*** Online auction site Ebay is to spin off the internet phone company Skype in an IPO next year. It bought Skype for $2.66 billion less than four years ago. The original idea was to allow eBay's buyers and sellers to chat on web phones, which should have resulted in more transactions. But that plan does not seem to have worked, and now Ebay says Skype has 'limited synergies' with the online auction firm.
*** US President Barack Obama said moves to recapitalise banks, strengthen the housing market and rescue the motor industry were 'necessary pieces of the recovery puzzle.' Ben Bernanke, the head of the US Federal Reserve, said there were hopeful signs of a recovery in America.
*** On the currency markets today, the euro is trading at $1.3254 cents and 89.05 pence sterling.
