Donald Trump’s blacklisting of mobile giant Huawei is forcing an Irish company into a three-day shutdown.
About 1,200 staff at Analog Devices in Raheen, Co Limerick have been told to take paid holidays as part of a production slowdown next month.
Analog makes semiconductors for Huawei smartphones - but the US commerce department has blacklisted the Chinese giant, and effectively halted its ability to buy American-made parts and components.
In the wake of these restrictions, Google has suspended activity with the giant, which supplies huge numbers of smartphones into the market.
Headquartered in Massachusetts, Analog is one of Limerick’s biggest employers, with its complex on the edge of Limerick acting as its main European base.
One worker there, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The consensus is, people have been asked to take holidays, or unpaid leave if you don’t have holidays remaining. It could be anything from three to five working days. It’s to ensure we don’t build up an inventory because of the uncertainty out there at the moment.”
The worker added that all staff “right across the board” are affected. Analog workers globally are impacted by this.
“It’s obviously quite unsettling,” they added.
Mr Trump – who was in Ireland last week – signed the executive order which effectively prevents any American companies doing business with the tech giant.
“It’s so volatile. One minute, he could say something and it could turn the world on its head – people could lock up their shops and the next minute he could open his mouth, and people could spend again. It’s so hard,” said the worker in reference to the American president.
Shares in Analog have been on the slide since the escalation of the trade tensions between the east and west.
Analog Devices Limerick is home to the firm’s European based research and development centre, and its global operations manufacturing facility.
While Huawei is not Analog’s only customer, it is a major client. The firm has around 12.5% of revenue exposure to 5G smartphone technologies.
It’s not the first time the actions of President Trump have had ramifications locally.
Last year, workers at Rusal Alumina in Aughinish faced a nervous period, due to hostilities between the American and Russian governments.
Ultimately, the US treasury waived sanctions on the firm in January.
Analog Devices did not respond to a request for comment.
