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Ryanair condemns Irish Government for losing "500 well paid engineering jobs for Ireland"; Genuine or another publicity stunt?
By Finfacts Team
Mar 9, 2010 - 12:54:03 PM
Hangar 6, Dublin Airport, the location of the SRT/Aer Lingus maintenance operation and now leased by the DAA to Aer Lingus.
Ryanair today condemned the Irish Government for its failure to win 500 well paid engineering jobs for Ireland as it confirmed that all 500 jobs, which it had originally promised to create in Hangar 6 at Dublin Airport, will now be lost to Glasgow Prestwick and one other European airport/country. This may well be the end of another publicity stunt from the low fares airline.
Ryanair's promise of jobs in Dublin was on the basis that it would be allowed wrest control of Hangar 6 from rival Aer Lingus and the improbable proposition that it was going to hire a significant number of the former staff of the SR Technics/Team Aer Lingus maintenance operation which closed down in 2009 with the loss of 800 jobs.
The Swiss company SRT had acquired the operation from Aer Lingus and the workforce was highly unionised with a history of industrial action. So apart from a small number of selective hires, it's unlikely that Ryanair would have employed many of the unemployed SRT workers. In effect, if Ryanair had been serious about establishing a facility in Dublin, IDA Ireland would have likely ended up subsidising employment for East Europeans.
Ryanair said today that its 2009 investment/jobs offer for Hangar 6 was ignored because the Government didn’t want to upset the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) monopoly. "Aer Lingus has now moved into H6, but instead of creating jobs Aer Lingus will shortly cut 900 more jobs at Dublin Airport," it said.
Ryanair confirmed that it will now finalise a deal with another European Government/airport. Ryanair says it believes it is a damming indictment of the current Irish Government that one of Ireland’s few world leading companies has not been encouraged, or assisted, to secure these 500 engineering jobs here in Ireland.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “It is clear that this Govt is incapable of maintaining or creating jobs. Its failure last year to encourage the world’s largest international airline to create up to 500 engineering jobs in Hangar 6 at Dublin Airport is typical of its indecision and incompetence.
“The refusal to sell or lease Hangar 6 to Ryanair in 2009 proves that this Govt prefers to protect the DAA monopoly who subsequently allowed Aer Lingus to move into the facility, an airline with no heavy maintenance in Ireland and no use for such a large hangar, and which is cutting up to 900 jobs.
“Ryanair will now move to finalise a deal with one of the other European Govts and airports who are interested in securing these engineering jobs and are working with Ryanair to sustain investment and jobs at their airports instead of waffling on about the “complexities” and “barriers” to job creation like Ireland’s dithering and incompetent Govt.”
