Dell is moving manufacturing jobs away from Limerick to Lodz in Poland. This Irish Independent article says the warning signs started in August 2007 when Dell introduced Polish workers to the plant.
I disagree. The warning signs (broadly not just specific to Dell) have been there much longer. I remember talking to an Irish trade representative at a conference in 2001. I told him Ireland was no longer competitive when it came to re-locations. His answer was - we get the business we want to get. The warning signs have come at least once a year since when some client or conversation would mention "We would leave Ireland in heartbeat were it not for the tax incentives we qualified for when we first arrived" . The warning signs came on every trip I did to my in-laws in the 90s (my wife is from Longford) - each trip was more expensive. More telling each trip the locals seemed to smile less. You could see signs of affluence every where - including the pubs. Right after work - employees could not wait to leave work.
Corporate re-locations are mercenary - and cruel. I hope Ireland does not pout like the Germans did after Nokia moved last year and threaten to quit buying Dell products. It's time for Ireland to sit back, re-assess its role in international trade. It has several significant assets and fans - just needs to re-position them in a changing world.
For the record, if I worked for Dell, I personally would have fought long and hard to keep the business in Limerick. Not just because I am married to an Irish lady. The stunning West Ireland vistas, the English language advantage, the superb golf, the shorter flight from the US (and shorter drive from a major airport), even the pubs - all matter. Poland has its own advantages and colorful history, but I would have tried harder to get incentives from the Irish to stay in Limerick.
