Are Ireland's tech layoffs down to an AI rout?
Is employment in the tech sector hitting another rough patch? A new report from RationalFX gives pause for thought.
As tech giants pour money into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and streamline their operations, the wave of lay-offs continues.
The report paints a stark picture, with at least 90,471 employees laid off from tech companies. The US leads the way, with more than 65,000 lay-offs reported by US companies. That was followed by Japan, Sweden and Switzerland, with China in 10th place at 500 losses.
But there was one omission from the list of countries: where does Ireland rank?
READ MORE
Taken at face value, Ireland wouldn't crack the top 10. Fintech
Stripe
is the only one attributed to the country, with 300 losses announced at the dual US-Ireland-headquartered company.
But the raw figures don't paint the whole picture. How the job losses are classified geographically is down to where the companies' headquarters are located, rather than where the real cuts will eventually fall.
If you look at the losses that have been announced to date in the tech sector in Ireland, it is highly likely that we would edge our way into the top 10. Only weeks ago,
TikTok
said it would cut up to 300 jobs at its Dublin operation. Then there was HR and payrollprocessing company Workday, which said in February it would cut 142 jobs in Dublin, while Salesforce was expected to cut around 50 roles here. Munich Re, meanwhile, said it would cut up to 18 jobs at its Irish tech unit.
Those were just the jobs losses that had been announced. There are more to come –
Intel
is downsizing, while
Meta
is also cutting. Microsoft announced global job cuts in the past few weeks.
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Intel layoffs announcement leads to foreboding in Leixlip amid job worries
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The role of AI in reducing the need for staff cannot be dismissed. But neither is it the apocalypse that was once feared – yet. While companies are cutting staff from one area, they are also recruiting for others. Stripe had 8,500 people at the start of the year; by the end of 2025, that number is expected to be over 10,000. And at the same time that TikTok said it would cut jobs in Ireland, it was also recruiting for other areas of the business.
But that will come as little comfort to those who have found their jobs surplus to requirements, or where the opportunities are outside their skill set or geographic location.
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