Motorola's Software Development Centre at Mahon Industrial Estate, Blackrock, Cork Photo Credit: Adrian Duffy

The world's No. 2 mobile phone company Motorola, said today that it is considering closing its facility in Blackrock, Cork, with 350 jobs at risk. The closure is viewed as a certainty.

On Friday, January 19, Finfacts reported that the Cork facility was at risk, in the wake of Motorola CEO Ed Zander's announcement that the company would cut 3,500 jobs as it seeks to slash operating costs after a plunge in margins.

In contrast with market leader Nokia, Motorola gained sales at the expense of a big drop in margins.

The company told workers in Cork today that if the plan were confirmed, it would result in "the vast majority of employees at the site being at risk of redundancy". The company said this would also make the site unsustainable as a Motorola facility. It said it would not be making any further comment until it had consulted workers further.

The Motorola Cork facility is a Software Development Centre and it employs many of the type of workers that local TD, Micheál Martin T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, refers to as "high calibre jobs" or "high value jobs.