MICROSOFT IS SET to cut a further 60 jobs from its Irish workforce as part of global cost-cutting measures announced in January.
It comes a month after Microsoft Ireland staff were informed that 120 employees would be laid off, bringing the total number of layoffs in Ireland to 180.
The tech giant employs around 3,600 people in its Dublin office.
It is understood that staff were informed of the additional layoffs this morning. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney has also been notified.
Microsoft Ireland is a hub for the company’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa across a number of areas, including operations, sales, engineering, and product development.
It is understood that because of this, the impact of the global cuts announced in January will take some time to work through and be implemented in Ireland in line with employment law requirements.
Announcing that it would layoff 10,000 employees worldwide in January, the company said the cuts were “in response to macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities”.
CEO Satya Nadella said customers wanted to “optimize their digital spend to do more with less” following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re also seeing organizations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one,” he said.
A number of tech giants have announced significant job cuts in recent months, including Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp), Google’s parent company Alpha, PayPal, Spotify and Dell.
In a statement to The Journal, Minister of State with responsibility for Employment Affairs Neale Richmond said the news is “a very worrying development for the 3,615 people who work for Microsoft in Leopardstown and my thoughts are with them and their families at this really difficult time”.
“I, with Minister Coveney and our Government colleagues will work closely with Microsoft to ensure they meet all their statutory obligations as well as working with those impacted to assist them where needed,” Richmond said.
He said the announcement is part of a global trend in the tech sector, but that Ireland has not suffered as many losses as many other countries. “In most cases the job losses in Ireland have been below the global averages announced,” he added.
“These announcements are of course deeply worrying for those impacted, but we must also remember that we are at full employment in Ireland and there is strong demand for tech skills across all sectors of the Irish economy.”
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