PayPal announces plan to axe up to 205 jobs in Ireland

PAYPAL has said up to 205 workers in Ireland are facing the axe, as part of a global programme of cuts.

The online payments giant said it was making the staff cutbacks to be ready for its ‘next chapter of growth’. The company insisted it ‘remains committed to Ireland’ and will still employ over 1,600 people here after these changes.

It’s the latest in a series of job cuts in the Irish tech sector, where Meta, Twitter, Accenture and Stripe have all reduced their headcount over the past year.

In its statement yesterday, PayPal said the cuts are subject to consultation.

‘PayPal today shared the difficult news with our employees in Ireland that we are proposing to reduce our workforce in Ireland by up to 205 jobs,’ a spokesman said. ‘These proposed changes are subject to consultation, and no redundancies will take effect until after a consultation process has concluded.’

The firm said the changes will allow it to ‘move with the speed needed’ to deliver for customers and ‘drive profitable growth’, while allowing it to continue to invest in the business.

The company also said those who may lose their jobs will be ‘treated fairly’, with a discretionary enhanced redundancy package and support on offer to ‘help them as they move to the next step in their careers’.

Earlier this week, PayPal announced plans to cut around 2,500 jobs globally, or 9% of its workforce. A letter to staff from chief executive Alex Chriss said the decision was made to ‘right-size’ the company by means of both direct cuts and the elimination of open jobs throughout the year.

Last March, PayPal announced 62 redundancies in Dundalk and Dublin and the closure of its Dundalk office, where remaining staff were moved to remote working.

Sinn Féin TD for Louth Ruairí Ó Murchú said: ‘The announcement by online payments giant PayPal that up to 205 redundancies are to be sought is a terrible blow for workers and their families at the start of the new year.’

Mr Ó Murchú said it is understood the redundancies will be split equally between Dublin and Dundalk.

‘This is not the first time that these loyal and hard-working employees have faced the uncertainty of a round of job losses and PayPal has to ensure that they are treated fairly and compassionately through this process,’ he said.

Labour TD for Louth Ged Nash described the announcement as an ‘extremely worrying development’.

He said: ‘I have requested that the company identifies other cost-saving measures as an alternative to redundancy.’