Thomas Lyons 
Less than 20 Irish jobs will be cut by Facebook’s owner, Meta, as the company undergoes a new round of global layoffs. The cuts will mainly impact Ireland’s data centre team, marking the third round of layoffs impacting Meta’s Irish workforce. The almost 70 jobs lost this year add to the 350 people made redundant as part of Meta’s first round of layoffs announced last year. Once employing more than 3,000 people in Ireland, continuous layoffs have reduced Meta’s Irish headcount to less than 2,600.
These cuts form part of plans detailed by Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, who issued an update last month on the company’s extensive restructuring plans. Announcing layoffs aimed at recruitment in March, Zuckerberg warned that cuts impacting Meta’s tech groups would follow in April, with further cuts to the company’s business groups taking place in May. Last month’s recruitment layoffs led to 50 Irish jobs being cut, with a further 20 Irish employees being let go this time round.
In November, the social media giant announced a restructuring plan including more than 11,000 layoffs globally. In addition to widespread cuts, Meta also extended a hiring freeze through the first quarter of 2023, adding to an industry-wide pullback in recruiting and spending across Silicon Valley. Meta shares fell by 1.6% to $214.41 (€195.65) in pre-market trading, tracking a broader decline in stocks.
Widespread layoffs afflicting Ireland’s tech sector have continued into 2023, with some of the world’s largest companies implementing major restructuring plans to curb falling demand. So far, cuts across giants including Twitter, Microsoft, Dell, Indeed, Salesforce and Google have already led to 2,300 job losses in total, with more expected in the coming months. Despite these cuts, the job losses are said to have “no visible impact” on the wider tech sector, with Minister for Enterprise, Simon Coveney saying, “This is a correction in the tech sector but it is certainly not a crisis.”
The news of the layoffs at Meta has come as a blow to the Irish tech industry, which has been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic. The sector, which accounts for a significant proportion of Ireland’s GDP, has been struggling to cope with the economic fallout from the pandemic, with many companies forced to cut costs in order to survive.
Despite this, there are signs that the Irish tech industry is beginning to recover, with many companies reporting strong growth in recent months. This growth has been driven by a surge in demand for digital services, as businesses and consumers alike have been forced to adapt to a more digital way of life.
Overall, while the news of the layoffs at Meta is undoubtedly a blow to the Irish tech industry, there are reasons to be optimistic about the sector’s future. With many companies reporting strong growth and demand for digital services continuing to rise, the sector looks set to bounce back from the pandemic in the coming months and years.
