The Workers’ Party has condemned the announcement of the loss of 500 jobs at HP Inc in Lexilip, Co. Kildare.
Cllr. Éilis Ryan (Workers’ Party, Dublin), pointed the finger at both the government’s blind reliance on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and at Hewlett Packard’s decision to split into two global companies – which has exacerbated the difficulties of HP Inc. without reducing the bottom line for the company’s executives.
Cllr. Ryan said:
“Hewlett Packard engaged in reprehensible behaviour, by dividing off a profitable, viable enterprise from a component which was flailing – HP Inc. What we now see is 500 job losses, which could have been prevented had HP refrained from effectively cutting a weaker part of its company loose.”
Cllr. Ryan said that the announcement again shows the volatility and unreliability of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a means of creating sustainable, long-term jobs, saying:
“The development shows the folly of relying on FDI as the major source of employment in this country. Very few of these companies last the pace, being happy to avail of the inducements of the state and the advantages of operating from this country, but ultimately leave when the profits are no longer there.
“The major foreign multinationals have no loyalty to workers. Their bottom line is the mighty dollar and if doing business in Ireland fails to be magnet enough to those profits it will shut up shop and cut its losses.”