Ex-Digital worker. Any web presence?

doolox

I was listening to a documentary on RTE radio one today at 7.00pm about the Digital factory closure in 1993-4.
It brought back a lot of memories of my time in the place (1979-1994) and in Galway generally.
Is there any web forum where an ex-deccie could make contact with other ex Deccies and swap stories about where we have gone in the past 15 years since the closure.
As for me I have moved to Dublin, got married and have children, and have had a job in Intel which I left in 2007.
The documentary brought back many happy memories and Digital was like a family, nobody thought of leaving and everybody had a good time there.
The loss of that job hit me far harder than the loss of my second job in Intel.
I had to spare a thought for the person mentioned in the documentary who was made redundant 5 times since leaving Digital........................

sgthighway

You could try Facebook and setup a Group. You would have to search Facebook for your old work buddys. Please take no offense but I would guess that alot of them wouldn't use the internet going on their age profile.

DeadSkin

doolox, check out this link, looks like there was a reunion last year. A few contacts listed on it also, good luck with it.

sgthighway wrote: »

You could try Facebook and setup a Group. You would have to search Facebook for your old work buddys. Please take no offense but I would guess that alot of them wouldn't use the internet going on their age profile.

LMFAO, bleedin' ageist.

forbairt

sgthighway wrote: »

You could try Facebook and setup a Group. You would have to search Facebook for your old work buddys. Please take no offense but I would guess that alot of them wouldn't use the internet going on their age profile.

The few that I came across had all setup companies ... technology based companies so ... they might be aware of the interwebs

Caliden

I remember the days leading up to those job losses being a nervous time in my house. My dad didnt know whether or not he would have his job by the end of the week. He was one of the lucky ones

DRakE

my dad worked for digital and he's on facebook


i've no friended him though, dont need him reading my posts and stuff -_-

PopeBuckfastXVI

Caliden wrote: »

I remember the days leading up to those job losses being a nervous time in my house. My dad didnt know whether or not he would have his job by the end of the week. He was one of the lucky ones

So he got the redundancy package then!? :pac:

From what I hear they were the stuff of legend...

PopeBuckfastXVI

DRakE wrote: »

my dad worked for digital and he's on facebook


i've no friended him though, dont need him reading my posts and stuff -_-

You can totally lock down what someone can see on your facebook, even if they are your friend...

doolox

The first tranch of redundancies as far as I recall were voluntary and were 8 weeks per year of service.
Some got 60-70k at a time when houses were going 30-40k.........
Techs and other groups deemed "essential" to the operations were not allowed to particpate.
We thought we were safe.
A year later financials were worse and the compulsory offer was 6 weeks per year of service.
10 years later at Intel a voluntary package of 6 years per year was on offer and as I hadn't built up enough years at the time I stayed put.
The transfer to FAB was a stormy one both for me and the staff I worked with and 5 years later another redundancy came up which I took.
Because shift, overtime etc was included and calculated across the entire service term it nearly doubled the package I received.
The price of houses however have nearly gone up 10 fold since then so it would not have as big an impact on me today as the Digital redundancy had back in '94.
In short the Digital layoff was able to pay off a complete house loand for most people at that time but the Intel payoff would reduce it by between a half and a third.
Both packages were generous.
In terms of money and pay both companies were good.

pointofnoreturn

doolox wrote: »

I was listening to a documentary on RTE radio one today at 7.00pm about the Digital factory closure in 1993-4.
It brought back a lot of memories of my time in the place (1979-1994) and in Galway generally.
Is there any web forum where an ex-deccie could make contact with other ex Deccies and swap stories about where we have gone in the past 15 years since the closure.
As for me I have moved to Dublin, got married and have children, and have had a job in Intel which I left in 2007.
The documentary brought back many happy memories and Digital was like a family, nobody thought of leaving and everybody had a good time there.
The loss of that job hit me far harder than the loss of my second job in Intel.
I had to spare a thought for the person mentioned in the documentary who was made redundant 5 times since leaving Digital........................

Hi, do you know the computer exibit that went on during Christmas and after in the city museum at Spanish arch, most of the equipment their was from DEC Galway, and we have the most interesting items in the college, if you'd like me to put you in contact with the people organizing it, PM me

Best of Luck, my uncle-inlaw worked there and moved to Russia, (you may know him) he too lives in Dublin now

extraice

listening to a documentary on RTE radio one today at 7.00pm about the Digital factory closure in 1993-4. was very good and listen to it all ..... hope dell staff listen aswell .... galway was finished at the time rembers every one sayying now look at galway ...... 2008 2009

pointofnoreturn

Can listen to a recording here...

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/1261742.html

Sunday 29th March 2009

Programme 5: Digital

Rachel English's programme on Digital in Galway's closure in the 1990s defines an era. It recalls a time when we were on the cusp of something we didn't see coming. It tells of how many of the Digital workers used their skills and what money they got to kickstart a range of enterprises, perhaps it provides a template of sorts.

Fey!

OP; were you in hardware or software?

PopeBuckfastXVI wrote: »

So he got the redundancy package then!? :pac:

From what I hear they were the stuff of legend...

What a lot of people forget is that the redundencies were taxed back then, at a very high rate.

doolox

I was in hardware. Software is not my strong point as it contains too many abstract concepts and is too like Maths in that regard, a subject at which I am also weak.
Software gurus are not immune to unemployment and redundancy although software packages tend to have a much longer product life cycle and evolve rather than going through revolutionary changes.
I think PC's will not change as much in the future as they did in the past as the business need is no longer there except in niche markets like graphics etc.
The software business is still there as far as I know under HP ownership, who also have an inkjet cartridge plant at Leixlip, not a million miles from where I worked at Intel. I met a few of their techs at FAS, Cabra training centre during my Mechatronics course and they seem to have a good attitude to employee development. Intel also was said to have a good attitude to staff development but as I am not a pushy type I missed out on it.
Maybe I didn't get to meet the right people as we were always ran off our feet working.
MAybe I should have pushed more to get on a course like this one I am on now as it is good and answering a lot of questions I had in the back of my mind about technology but was too busy to ask.
This time around the redundancy package has allowed me breathing space to think through my career and go for something a little different and the FAS course, which would cost a fortune if taken privately, is allowing me to start on that road.
I hope the government can give more people a similar opportunity to re-invent themselves.