A call centre company is to close its Cork operation at Mahon, with the loss of 84 jobs, after a decision was made to transfer the operation back to Britain.
CIMS, which is part of the US Affinion Group and offers support services to banks and financial institutions, is to close its operation on the city's south side on March 19th.
Staff at the plant were briefed on the decision at a meeting with senior company executives at the plant in Mahon at midday yesterday after the company decided to transfer the support centre to its existing centre in Portsmouth.
A CIMS spokesman said that staff at the Cork operation, which opened in 2000, are being given the choice of transferring to the company's operation in Ports-mouth or accepting redundancy.
The company provides 24-hour assistance to customers of financial institutions such as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Norwich Union and Lloyds TSB.
Yesterday's announcement is the latest in a series of contrasting jobs announcements for the Cork area which last month saw Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and local TD, Micheál Martin, announce some major investments in the region.
In January, Mr Martin announced that an American biopharmaceutical firm, Amgen, following intensive work by IDA Ireland, is to invest €820 million in establishing a plant in Carrig-twohill in east Cork, which will create 1,100 jobs.
He also announced that financial services group Citco is to expand its Cork operations with the creation of 250 jobs at the Cork Airport Business Park and that Irish customer support services company, Abtran, is to take on another 50 staff at its plant in Bishopstown.
Last December, AIB and Bank of New York announced they were to create 200 jobs in Cork in a joint venture at the Cork Airport Business Park while US construction firm, Parsons, said it was creating 80 jobs, also at the same location.
However just last month, the Danish hearing aid manufacturer GN ReSound said it was closing its plant on the Model Farm Road in Cork with the loss of 180 jobs, with the transfer of production to China and administration back to Denmark.
Last week in north Cork, Irish Pride said it was closing the long-established Keating's bakery in Kanturk with the loss of more than 90 jobs, following the transfer of production to Wexford and Mayo.
Local Green Party TD Dan Boyle expressed his disappointment at the CIMS announcement and called on Mr Martin to clarify what implications it might have for the policy of attracting call centres to Cork. "I have a wider concern that a company which was attracted to the region through the promotion of a specific policy has now decided to reverse its decision to operate in Cork," Mr Boyle said.
Mr Martin said he was disappointed but he had already arranged with Fás to carry out an immediate assessment of the skills of the workforce.
