By Stephen McKinley
E-Trade announced that it has shelved its plans to open a data center in Ireland, due to a downturn in the economy. Thirteen of its 20 technical staff will lose their jobs as well.
For E-Trade, Bahareh Green said, "This is part of a consolidation of our business. We will not be cutting jobs anywhere else in Europe."
Technical and network support for E-Trade’s European websites will now be dealt with staff in each country rather than from Dublin, as had been planned.
E-Trade, which is one the largest on-line stockbrokers in the world, said recently it would make a pre-tax loss of $6.8 million for the second quarter of 2001.
Galen shares sold
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Galen directors plan to raise as much as stg£90 million by selling shares in a £300 million equity fund-raising by the Northern Ireland-based specialty pharmaceuticals company.
Finance director Geoffrey Elliott could gain up to £10 million.
Since last year’s acquisition of Warner Chilcott, its U.S. rival, Galen derives some 60 percent of its turnover in the U.S., but only 9 percent of its investors are based there.
Stadium plan review
The stadium and "Sports Campus Ireland" proposed by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for Abbotstown, Co. Dublin, will be audited by High-Point Rendel, the international business, management and technology consultant.
The study will come up with accurate costing figures, and High-Point Rendel has to report back by Sept. 30.
Sports is a High-Point Rendel specialty: previous projects include the Commonwealth Games Stadium in Malaysia and strategic project management of the English National Stadium.
Companies recruit online
Job-seekers take note: iLogos has researched job listings, and reports that 88 percent of the top 500 companies in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America now recruit online.
This represents a considerable jump from 1998, when only 29 percent did so.
iLogos believes that almost all the top 500 global firms will recruit online by next year, and says that online headhunting and online workforce optimization will be the next major opportunities in this sector.
No more Irish metal
KPMG has been selected to liquidate the only Irish steelworks, Irish Ispat.
The company closed two weeks ago, with the loss of 420 jobs, and debts of £36 million. Among the creditors are ESB, which is owed almost 2 million euro, and HM Customs & Excise, which is owed almost 750,000 euro.
Russia welcomes Irish meat
Russia lifted its ban on Irish and French meat products last week, and relaxed restrictions on the Netherlands as well.
"We’ve completely lifted the bans on France and Ireland and partially lifted the one on the Netherlands as the situation with foot-and-mouth disease is better," a spokeswoman for the Russian Agricultural ministry said.
Russia banned imports of all cattle and meat products from European Union countries in February as foot-and-mouth disease devastated Britain’s agricultural industry and infected mainland Europe. Since then it has been gradually easing the bans.
FMD restrictions eased
Further foot-and-mouth easing — livestock markets in Northern Ireland will reopen during the summer.
Agriculture Minister Brid Rodgers announced that live cattle and pig sales are to resume on July 30. To date, the only livestock sales had been carried out by the method pioneered in County Fermanagh — via video link-ups.
"We are very pleased on behalf of local pig and cattle producers that livestock markets will recommence," said Joe McDonald, Ulster Farmers Union.
Four cases of the disease were found in Counties Armagh, Antrim and Tyrone earlier this year.
Textiles gloom
Textiles continue to decline in Northern Ireland — 85 jobs went in Sion Mills, Co. Tyrone, last week.
Herdman Mills spins flax, but is not going out of business — weekend work has been cut, hence the need for job losses.
The company’s factory in the Irish Republic is to close completely, with 170 jobs being lost at Ballybofey in County Donegal.
A less certain world market has caused the cuts.
The Transport and General Workers’ Union confirmed the job losses and said the workforce was saddened by the news.
Go for Scotland
Go, the low-cost British airline, has established Dublin-to-Edinburgh and Glasgow routes.
Go will be competing with Ryanair and Aer Lingus. A Dublin-to-Edinburgh flight will cost £50 and £45 to Glasgow.
Ryanair’s chief, Michael O’Leary, said he wasn’t impressed, noting that his airline flies Dublin-to-Glasgow Prestwick airport for £30. Aer Lingus charges a return fare of £160.07 to Glasgow and £182.90 to Edinburgh.
"Their fares are 60 percent higher than Ryanair," he said, "and they have a crap schedule. Their first flight out is 10 a.m. We will be out and back at that stage — goodbye, Go."
Go chief executive Barbara Cassani, who was in Dublin last week to introduce the company’s service, said she expected the airline to carry 500,000 passengers.
"It’s about time Irish travelers had the opportunity to combine low fares and high quality — Go’s here to provide it," she said.