Staff at Meta’s Irish operations are facing a new round of job cuts as the company seeks to trim around 10 per cent of its global headcount. If this cut were mirrored at its Irish operations it would result in 180 roles being axed.
The news is a further blow to the workforce here, which has been reduced by 40 per cent since its post-Covid peak of around 3,000 employees to 1,800 people across multiple sites including Meta’s international headquarters in Dublin, a data centre in Co Meath and Reality Labs in Cork, according to an analysis by The Irish Times.
In a memo to staff, Instagram and Facebook owner Meta said the job cuts would be implemented on May 20th. The company is reducing staff numbers in a bid to offset heavy investment in artificial intelligence and to boost its efficiency.
It is not yet known how many jobs here will be affected but a 10 per cent cut in staff at its European headquarters in Ireland would put up to 180 jobs at risk.
A spokeswoman for Meta Ireland did not comment on the reports.
Under Irish employment law, the company must undergo a consultation period and the Government must be informed of large scale lay-offs.
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Previous reports had indicated that Meta was considering more wide-ranging cuts, with figures of up to 20 per cent suggested. However, Meta is also planning to leave 6,000 open roles at the company unfilled, taking the final toll to around 14,000 jobs.
Meta has invested heavily in artificial intelligence, pivoting from its previous gamble on the metaverse. It has invested heavily in attracting top AI talent to work at the company as it seeks to capitalise on the push towards generative AI.
The latest round of cuts is the most significant since Meta embarked on its “year of efficiency” in 2022, restructuring the company and announcing thousands of job cuts. That translated to almost 350 job losses in Meta Ireland that year, with a further 500 announced by May 2023.
Last year, the company cut a number of jobs at its Irish operations as part of a round of “performance-related” cutbacks globally that it expected to trim around 5 per cent of its staff numbers.
Big Tech companies are hugely important to the Irish economy, both in terms of corporation tax and employee taxes.
Latest accounts for Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, a key Irish subsidiary of the tech giant, show that its payroll costs amounted to €454 million in 2024. This included €257 million in wages and salaries.
The Irish company paid corporation tax of €366 million that year on profits of €2.9 billion.
The job losses announced in the past few years only apply to full-time Meta employees in Ireland. The company also employs temporary and contract workers through partnerships with third-party firms, including Covalen, which allows it to increase and reduce staff as quickly as needed.
