PayPal announces 62 job losses and closure of its Dundalk offices

PayPal's offices in Blanchardstown, Dublin. 

PayPal has announced that it will be cutting 62 jobs from its Irish operations as part of the company's aim to reduce its global workforce by 7%. 

The company also said that it plans to close its Dundalk offices at the end of March with staff attached to the office continuing to work remotely. PayPal employs over 2,000 staff here in Ireland with the staff split approximately 50/50 between its offices in Dundalk and Dublin.

It is proposed that 35 jobs will be cut from the Dublin offices and 27 from Dundalk. A formal consultation with staff is expected to take place in the coming days when the employee representatives are elected.

In a statement, PayPal said no redundancies will take effect until after the consultation process has concluded.

“PayPal is committed to ensuring that colleagues who leave under the proposed changes are treated fairly and generously.

“PayPal is committed to Ireland and will continue to employ approximately 2,000 people in the country after these changes.” 

In January, PayPal announced that it would be cutting 2,000 jobs from its global workforce or 7% of the total. Jobs losses in Ireland account for 3% of the total PayPal jobs here.

In relation to the closure of its offices in Dundalk, PayPal said there has been a “dramatic change” working arrangements since the outbreak of the pandemic with employees in Ireland and elsewhere “having embraced the opportunity to work from home”.

“The company has seen consistently small numbers of staff travelling to work in its offices in Dublin and Dundalk.” 

The company now plans on finding a smaller office in Dublin that better suits the needs of its workforce. Its current office was opened in Ballycoolin in 2008.

It now intends to sell this site to facilitate the move to a smaller office.

“PayPal’s employees in Dundalk will now work remotely, reflecting the change that many employees have already made. As a result, PayPal will close its Dundalk site on March 31.

“There is a small number of contract workers, who are employed by third parties to manage facilities on site, impacted by today's announcement. Those third parties will be able to provide more specific information, as some of these workers may be redeployed,” the company said.

Maeve Dorman, Senior Vice President at PayPal, said: employee footfall at our offices at Dublin and Dundalk has remained “consistently low” which is why they are making this decision.

“From the outset of this virtual working reality, our focus has been to ensure our employees remain connected and engaged in meaningful ways – and this will remain a priority for us as we move forward.

“Our goal will continue to be to create better, more collaborative, and relevant opportunities for our workforce,” she said.