Hundreds of Irish PayPal employees face layoffs as tech companies cut costs across Europe

More than 300 PayPal employees are at risk of dismissal as the company joined a battle across the tech sector to cut costs amid a massive sell-off in stock markets and mounting recession fears.

Ob cuts at PayPal will not be voluntary as the company is said to be targeting specific roles and functions to shed 307 of its 2,000+ employees in Ireland.

It is understood that Ireland’s job losses were initially larger – as the company intends to move more of its business to lower-cost markets.

The news at PayPal in Dundalk and Dublin came amid a dramatic 24-hour tech-sector job cuts across Europe as a number of companies brace for a potential economic shock.

Swedish buy-now pay-later giant Klarna cut 700 jobs on Monday — about one in ten of its workforce. She blamed a reversal in consumer sentiment triggered by inflation, the war in Ukraine, a highly volatile stock market and the risk of a recession.

Gorillas, a German online grocery delivery start-up, shed half its global office staff yesterday and said it was considering its “strategic options” in Italy, Spain, Denmark and Belgium.

In the US, Netflix, which reported its first loss of subscribers in more than a decade in the first quarter of 2022, laid off 150 employees last week.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar spoke of a “real shock” to the employees of the PayPal offices in Dundalk and Blanchardstown.

Some work is expected to be relocated, possibly to Asia, while other positions will be eliminated. While 172 of the reels affected are in Dundalk, the remaining 135 are in Dublin.

The company said, “The changes will help us scale our business to meet the evolving needs of our customers so we are ready for our next growth chapter.”

Mr Varadkar, Secretary of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said: “This news will come as a real shock to the staff at PayPal’s Dundalk and Blanchardstown offices, their families and communities.

“I spoke to PayPal’s leadership team and expressed my disappointment with the decision and the impact it will have on their employees. The company has assured me that PayPal remains committed to Ireland and that the company’s remaining 2,000 employees will continue to be employed here.

“Consultation with staff will start this Thursday (tomorrow) and I understand that all 307 redundancies will initially be sought on a voluntary basis and a good redundancy package will be made available.”

A PayPal spokesperson said: “We are looking at how we can make changes that may be needed to shape the business going forward for our next wave of growth, so we are making sure we have the scale to move with it.” to keep our customers needs.

“There isn’t a single aspect I can point to. It is not a specific response to an economic condition. We look at the business as a whole.”

The spokesman added: “We are committed to ensuring that anyone leaving as part of the proposed changes is treated fairly and generously.

“This is a very important thing for us.”