There is nobody that could have missed the news last week that Dell will be moving their production from the Limerick plant to Lodz, Poland leading to 1900 employees becoming redundant over the next 12 months.
While I will not enter into discussion here on the “who, what, where & how” I do think this does not neccesarilly has to be all bad. In pure practical terms this leads to 1900 people with up to 1 years salary paid into their bank account. Quite a few of these people will have skills that are still marketable and that could be turned into a profitable business. Their redundancy payment will nulify one of the biggest worry of every starting entrepreneur; how to pay your bills. All they need is the right support and mentoring.
While state development agencies such as the County Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland the IDA etc. have a role to play here I am convinced that the Open Coffee Club can play a valuable part in this process. The Open Coffee Club attendees have a wealth of experience and information that should be shared with people wanting to venture out on their own. I would like to invite any of the Dell employees that will be made redundant to attend our OCC meetings.
To make a start I am following Sensorpro’s Chris Byrne example by offering free start-up advice to any of the Dell employees who believe that this is NOT the end and who would like to find out more about starting their own business. Assisting these people (and others) to create their own employment and also create jobs for others will hopefully create a solid base of Irish owned businesses. These businesses in general will not move to lower wage countries at the first rise in national wage standards. It will also lead to a more solid and dependable base of employment. After all the IDA spent millions (if not more) over the last few decades on attracting foreign owned companies to Ireland. These companies will move to lower cost countries as soon as it make sense to their bottom line. Directing some funds towards creating a healthy start-up environment will have a long term positive effect on this countries economy.
Support could take lots of different forms; advice and mentoring is one, but another option is the creation of high benefit, low bureaucracy start-up centres. Take some of the plenty-full vacant offices and create an environment where a start-up or entrepreneur can concentrate on what they need to do: getting their business of the ground.
I am looking for members of Irelands business & start-up community who would be willing to contribute in this effort to get these 1900+ people back into employment.
UPDATE: I have setup an online network in an effort to facilitate communication between all interested parties (those interested in starting their own business and those offering to assist them). The network can be found here: http://www.igopeople.com/g/564-Dell-Limerick
UPDATE: People interested in finding our more about starting their won business as well as companies and people wanting to offer support can email or call me on 086-8645099. Regards, Evert Bopp.
29 Comments Received
January 12th, 2009 @12:24 pm
Great idea Evert and Chris. I’d like to help too in any way I can. Let’s do what we can to get these people to come along to OpenCoffee.
January 12th, 2009 @12:40 pm
You’re right, guys, it sounds like a disaster, but there’s a good chance it can be turned around.
I agree with Stephen Kinsella (http://twitter.com/stephenkinsella/status/1108722500), there aren’t many chances we can turn Limerick into a Sillicon Valley, but there are some things we can do.
Ready to help as well!
And this is an initiative I found out about from the same colleague’s tweets: http://startingtoday.ie/
January 12th, 2009 @3:25 pm
Hi Bob
you are right but having been made redundant many years ago which is when I decided to take my fate into my own hand those guy’s will be in a state of shock for a while which no amount of money will soften the blow for a while as its not just money that is missing when jobs are removed. Whole day time social structures created through the working environment are torn apart. Time and the right noise from all around colleges Government agencies banks trainers etc etc will help hugely. However as you know we run start up programmes and are more than willing to help in what ever way we can.
Graham
January 12th, 2009 @4:58 pm
@James & @GabrielaThanks for the support. For the moment I think it’s important to get the word out so any publicity is much appreciated
@Graham I absolutely agree. Loss of a “regular” job comes as a huge shock to the system in many ways. We want to help by sharing knowledge and providing support. Any assistance from the LEAP centre is off course very welcome!
January 12th, 2009 @5:08 pm
Great idea. I’d love to help in any way I can, count me in.
January 12th, 2009 @7:13 pm
If you are an ex-dell employee and are hoping to be interviewed by an employer - we will try to help you by offering you a secure face to face meeting without the need to travel and at no charge. This offer is for ex-dell people only and at no charge for a limited time, and is as a good will gesture, based on interest. http://www.onlinemeetingrooms.com other conditions maybe imposed to protect ourselves against abuse. After all if the CEB had their act together they would be paying for this… but hey aren’t they secure in their jobs… ok Evert have said my piece - once not abused - glad to help any ex-deller twitter http://www.twitter.com/onlinemeetings
January 12th, 2009 @8:42 pm
Its a super idea and i’d like to share some learning:
- You (Deller) have to completely want to do your own business idea. You must be consumed by ambition/passion/greed (insert passion here), but you must bring the passion. I’ve been advising, and helping, over 40 start ups in the last 10 years (including the last 6 at VoiceSage) ,and that is the differentiating factor.
Everyone else: there are potential jobs, and reskilling opportunities, and their will be help for you to figure this out.
January 13th, 2009 @8:47 am
Hello, my name is Paula Horan and my business, Company Bureau, based in Dublin is making a special offer to future business owners in Limerick and surrounding counties to incorporate their own company for an ‘all in’ price of €199. We have just placed an advert in The Limerick Post to appear next week. We also offer supporting services such as basic accounts, vat application and bookkeeping as these elements of running a business can be alien to people setting up their own businesses first time around. We would like to make the process as easy and as undaunting as we can. Log on to our website http://www.companyformations.ie or email me, paula@companybureau.ie or alternatively, phone 01 646 16 25.
January 13th, 2009 @10:26 am
As much as I know people may need to hang a shingle, I’d be careful about arranging a campaign around a need for funding for bricks because that puts you into competition with all the incubation centres hanging off the side of third level colleges and others set up by county enterprise boards or Shannon Development.
I’d rather a squatter’s mentality evolve in Ireland, like you see in vacant office spaces in Berlin. If it’s built and empty for a long term, squatters often arrive and no one turfs them out. That arrangement doesn’t work well for insuring high value equipment, but as a work space leeching off free and open wifi, it’s a low-cost business process.
January 13th, 2009 @10:45 am
@Bernie I have no plans to “compete” with any of the incubation centres or state bodies. However these bodies and organisations by their nature are not quick to react to market change. We are trying to ad to their efforts by offering support and advice and also trying to stimulate businesses that can provide supporting services for these people to offer these at a special rate.
I do not and will not get involved in the funding end!
As regarding office space; that is one of my points. There is so much vacant office space that it would be beneficial for a developer who owns some of these office blocks to offer this at no costs and just let the start-ups pay the utility costs for the initial period. It’s a continuation of the co-working space that I have aired before. Let landlords take equity instead of cash.
Anyway, let’s all pull together and turn this thing around!
January 13th, 2009 @11:11 am
Update: we’ve now setup an online community for this. It can be found here: http://www.igopeople.com/g/564-Dell-Limerick
Sign up, create a profile and communicate!
January 13th, 2009 @11:12 am
Great points @paulsweeney and others. And I’m probably getting carried away a bit now but @topgold’s linkage to Scobles advice for people layed-off in the Valley[1] got me thinking that beyond the great networking at OpenCoffee we need to get these people along to the Barcamps, especially the BizCamp Keith Bohanna has been proposing. Many of these DELLers will need help with what many of us might consider the basics so it might even make sense to run a special DELLcamp if the interest was there. But let’s take the temperature at OpenCoffee first.
[1] http://scobleizer.com/2009/01/12/if-you-are-laid-off-heres-how-to-socially-network/
January 13th, 2009 @12:10 pm
My name is Patrick Barry from Barrton LTD in Cork. We are an associate partner with the IMAGINE telecom group, which is a 100% Irish owned company and the No 1 alternative to Eircom in the market place.
We work jointly with IMAGINE in gathering both business and residential customers and are paid per account directly by IMAGINE for our efforts. We would like to offer the opportunity of doing the same to the people in Dell who have recently received the terrible news of being made redundant. There is normally a €99 euro fee to register with IMAGINE but any person that is made redundant from Dell we would work something out for them and get them on the way of earning an income immediately. The earnings are totally up to individual themselves but they would get paid their commissions on regular basis. IMAGINE have an highly trained sales force that works directly with us and it is IMAGINE who will actually sign up the business and residential customer for us i.e call to a business and fill out the forms.
Just as a point of information, Gaelic Telecom which is a means for GAA clubs to fundraise is actually a subsidiary of the IMAGINE Group, as is Irish Broadband. The IMAGINE group has clients such as the AIB, McDonalds, SherryFtiz…. but to name a few.
We would like to offer the opportunity to the people of Limerick. If you could be of any assistance in sharing this information with them it would be greatly appreciated. We regularly have information nights in Cork and could arrange one for Limerick if you feel that people are already looking for what to do next. We would just need to publicize it so that we can get as many people attending as possible. I was looking on the internet to see if there was any support group or organization setup for the people who are going to be made redundant but could not find any.
I hope the future is bright for the people of Dell and the Limerick area.
Patrick Barry
Barrton LTD
+353 87 2789429
info@barrton.com
January 13th, 2009 @12:56 pm
All,
I am blown away by the amount of support been offered by you to the Dell employee’s soon to be out of work.
Its much appreciated and nice to know that efforts are been made from numerous state bodies but to see what’s posted here i.e. people giving there time and knowledge to assist DELLers free of charge is a wonderful thing and something you should all be proud of. This city will bounce back especially when people like yourselves are about.
January 13th, 2009 @3:59 pm
Quite happy to lend a hand and ear to anyone who needs some direction in times ahead.
January 13th, 2009 @4:45 pm
I’ve just finished a chat with Matt Cooper of The Last Word on Today FM about this initiative.
It will be airing today (January 13th) around 4:50 pm.
January 13th, 2009 @5:32 pm
Great idea. Much of the “scariness” of being let-go is how can I never let this happen to me again, and one way to make sure, is to do your own thing. Sure, there is zero security, you work very long hours (usually for less than what you would have been paid in a McJob), but you are building something, something hopefully long term, something of value, but most importantly, something for you. It’s even better if you business aligns with your passion, your dreams, your hobby or just your general life goals - e.g. flexibility. However, if you’ve worked for “the man” all your life, the steps above seem daunting and practically impossible and to meet like minded people, in a informal fashion (Open Coffee Club) who have been there, done that etc, is a place to start. So it’s a great initiative…well done - happy to help if I can.
January 13th, 2009 @9:34 pm
Congrats to Chris, Evert and all who have offered to help. The various agencies have their role to play but entrepreneurs who have been there and done that can be of invaluable assistance. It would be terrific to see the Open Coffee movement become a focal point and resource for those who are even remotely interested in setting up their own business.
We all know how competitive business can be - we rarely remember how cooperative it can also be, Well done for reminding us of that fact.
January 14th, 2009 @9:11 am
Perhaps some of the ex-Dell employees, who may be willing to travel could set up an outsourcing company in Poland and offer their services to Dell.
They have the skill set so why not use it to good advantage, they will be earning some sort of a wage in a lost cost economy. Who knows perhaps they could become trainers for outsourcing other people into Dell.
Just a thought.
John
Jobs2Ireland.com
January 14th, 2009 @6:40 pm
Hi I just heard you on Matt Cooper
I’m thrilled to hear such a positive approach to a difficult situation. I am a freelance journalist working in Limerick and would like to open a different business and need all the support and advice I can get. I would like to attend your meeting tomorrow, I am busy until 12 so will come afterwards and hope to catch you
Valerie
January 16th, 2009 @4:59 pm
Just came across this…
Press Statement 16th January 2009
TUS NUA – Major state agencies and 3rd level educators in the Mid-West agree a coordinated approach to tackle unemployment
TUS NUA – “Begin anew”. Following recent announcements of company closures and layoffs throughout the Mid-West, a number of agencies and educational institutions have come together in the region to form a new initiative with the aim of getting workers back into the active labour market as quickly as possible.
FÁS, Enterprise Ireland and the City and County Enterprise Boards, University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology have established a new approach to assist the growing number of people who find themselves out of work in the Mid-West. The name of the group is TUSNUA. A web portal, http://www.Tusnua.ie, has been set up which will guide people through the initial orientation process into new opportunities. These may lie in alternative employment, in pursuing further education and training, in setting up a business or in a combination of some of these options. The web portal will be live from next Monday, January 19th.
January 26th, 2009 @6:53 pm
Dell is leaving is really a big impact on Limerick. 1900 is not a small number! Hope those people can find a job soon.
Pingback & Trackback
Leave A Reply