META HAS NOT yet issued notice to the Department of Enterprise of any plans for  layoffs within its Irish workforce as part of its plans to cut 8,000 jobs globally. 

A memo sent to staff yesterday announced plans to cut 10% of Meta’s global workforce. 

It’s expected that there will be further job cuts in Ireland, where the tech giant employs around 1,800 people, but figures are not known at this stage and no formal notice has been given. 

Meta has already made redundancies in Ireland which have impacted over 800 roles in recent years.

Agency companies which employ staff to work on Meta projects – chiefly in the areas of content moderation – have also announced layoffs, including Covalen. 

Meta is the company behind Facebook and Instagram. It has invested billions in AI, and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously said that in 2026 AI would dramatically change how the company works. 

At the start of this year he said that projects that previously required large teams of workers can now be carried out by “a single very talented person”. 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin commented on the news from Cyprus today, where he is meeting with EU leaders. 

He said that there is concern overall when it comes to the impact of AI on jobs, and added that the Government is “looking at proposals to see how we can identify the implications and impact of AI on the world over the next number of years”. 

Martin added that while AI may generate new jobs, there are signs that there will be a significant upheaval in the jobs market over the next few years, which may occur “earlier rather than later” in the next decade. 

John Bohan, organiser for the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU), which has members within Meta’s Irish workforce and within Meta-contracted firms, said that the union is “alarmed” by this announcement. 

“We’re seeing living breathing workers disposed of to offset a balance sheet of mind-boggling AI spending. 

“Our union members are organising across Meta’s digital supply chain in Ireland, and we’re ready to back directly employed staff who want to organise for job security and AI safeguards,” he said.

Labour’s enterprise spokesperson George Lawlor TD said there is “a contagion” of redundancies across the tech sector.

“In recent months, we have learned of new redundancies from Google, Meta, Amazon, Twitter, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Intel and Microsoft,” Lawlor said.

“The cumulative effect of these cuts are devastating for families and for people who are indirectly employed by the tech industry are too.”

Lawlor said the government should develop a “new national industrial policy” that continues to attract international talent while providing secure jobs for people.

If you have been impacted by layoffs in the tech sector you can contact eimermcauley@thejournal.ie. 

- With reporting by Political Correspondent Jane Matthews.