Minister’s single call2017 to save 500 jobs at HP

Failed to travel to US or meet with executives

JOBS Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor made no direct personal plea to Hewlett-Packard executives until she joined a conference call a few days before it announced 500 job losses, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Meanwhile, the US-based company conceded yesterday that it could not be specific about the exact number of lay-offs at its Leixlip plant – with the possibility of more to come in connected companies.

Wednesday’s announcement by the multinational – which focuses on products for the PC and printer market – stated that a total of 500 employees of one section, HP Inc, will be affected.

A spokeswoman for the minister conceded that she made only one conference call to executives and did not travel to California or meet with Irish executives since HP revealed in October that there would be as many as 4,000 lay-offs internationally.

‘Minister Mitchell O’Connor spoke with senior management in the company for the first time last week,’ said the spokeswoman last night. ‘She was also in regular contact with IDA Ireland, who were engaged in intensive efforts to avert the decision.’

The IDA executives travelled to HP headquarters in Palo Alto, California, at one point to meet senior company leaders. However, the jobs minister ‘didn’t attend those’, according to her spokeswoman. ‘But she was kept fully briefed and informed at all stages. And she did join a call last Friday with senior company leaders in the US, and the CEO of IDA Ireland.

‘In the course of that call she did ask them if they would reconsider their decision. It was lengthy call – between 20 minutes to half an hour. The minister stepped out of a meeting to go on that call.’

Sources at the Leixlip campus said that eventual job losses there could be as high as 1,100, significantly more than the reported 500.

This would include contract and part-time workers.

A HP spokesman stressed that this week’s announcement relates to HP Inc, not Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, which is a different company.

He said: ‘We cannot comment on contract agency partners or tenant companies… on how this announcement might affect their employees.

‘The number of impacted HP employees, full-time and part-time, is likely to be close to 500. We can only speak for HP and wouldn’t be able to provide employee numbers for other companies. It is worth noting that we plan to sell the Leixlip site, including its current sub-leases,’ he added.

The company is hoping that another organisation would step in to engage contractors.

Political opponents this weekend strongly condemned Ms Mitchell O’Connor’s laissez-faire attitude.

‘This impending closure was flagged last October. One conference phone call after the decision had been made is totally inadequate and unacceptable,’ said Fianna Fáil jobs spokesman Niall Collins. ‘The IDA travelled to California and she didn’t – she had no meetings with executives. The lack of effort is disgraceful.’

Mr Collins said that when Dell was threatening international closures in 2008, Mary Coughlan – then-enterprise minister – flew to Texas to urge Michael Dell not to pull out of Limerick. The mission was ultimately unsuccessful, with the multinational pulling out and taking 2,000 jobs with it.

‘You still have to try, to leave nothing on the pitch when there are so many jobs at stake,’ said Mr Collins. ‘Mary Mitchell O’Connor didn’t even try.’

‘Mitchell O’Connor’s lack of effort is disgraceful’