Hard disk manufacturer Seagate Technology has confirmed 300 jobs have gone at its Derry plant as part of its plan to cut costs.
The US tech giant initially sought around 100 redundancies from the Springtown factory in May 2023, linked to wider restructuring across its global organisation.
But it’s understood that three times as many workers subsequently applied for the voluntary scheme, with Seagate accepting those applications.
New accounts published by for Seagate Technology (Ireland) state the company reduced its headcount by around 300 since June 30 2023, when its workforce stood at 1,639.
The report states the restructuring plan was “substantially completed” by the end of the first quarter of the 2024 financial year (three months to September 2023), at a cost of $17.2m (£13.6m).
The Springtown operation, originally set up in Derry in 1993, makes recording heads for use in data storage media products which are sold by the Seagate group.
The 2023 accounts for Seagate Technology (Ireland), which is legally registered as a company in the Cayman Islands, reveal turnover slumped by 25% last year to $165 million (£130m), a fall of around £44m.
But the report shows Seagate’s pre-tax profit actually increased to $16.4m (£13m) in 2023, largely thanks to $4.9m (£3.9m) it received in interest income on ‘amounts owed by group undertakings’.
That was slightly higher than the $16m (12.7m) pre-tax profit it reported in 2022.
But bottom line profit was ultimately down by around one-third (32%) from $20.3m (£16m) in 2022 to $13.9m (£11m) in the year to June 30 2023.
The swing factors in a $4.4m (£3.5m) tax credit it benefited from in 2022 and a $2.5m (£2m) tax bill it faced in 2023.
In a summary of its annual performance, the directors of Seagate Technology (Ireland) said: “Turnover from continuing operations and operating profit both decreased by 25% during the year, primarily due to macroeconomic headwinds impacting the data storage industry, which restricted near term demand for the company’s products.
“Profit for the financial year has decreased by 32% as a result of decreased demand, movement in foreign currency rates and higher tax expense in the year.
“In April 2023, the Seagate Group committed to restructuring plans to reduce its cost structure to better align operational needs to current economic conditions, while continuing to support the long-term business strategy.
“As a result, since June 30 023, the company reduced his headcount by approximately 300, with the restructuring substantially completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024 financial year.”
Despite the restructuring plan, Seagate said it continued to invest in its manufacturing capability of recording head wafers at its Derry plant, “employing the very latest product and process technologies”.
