PayPal to cut 205 jobs from Irish workforce 

Cuts represent around 11% of the company's Irish employee base 

First established in Ireland more than 20 years ago, PayPal said it "remains committed to Ireland and plan to continue attracting the best possible talent in Ireland to meet the needs of our business." (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Payments firm, PayPal is to cut more than 200 jobs across its Irish workforce as part of wider plans to reduce its global headcount.

Irish staff at the multinational payments firm were informed on Thursday of the cuts which will bring the company's total workforce here to just over 1,600.

Earlier this week, PayPal CEO, Alex Chriss, who took over the top job in September, said the company would reduce its global workforce by about 9% this year. 

In a letter to staff this week, Mr Chriss said the decision was made to “right-size” the company through both direct cuts and the elimination of open roles throughout the year.

"PayPal is going through a strategic transformation to position us for our next chapter of growth," a spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.

"We are doing this to allow us to move with the speed needed to deliver for our customers and drive profitable growth. At the same time, we will continue to invest in areas of the business we believe will create and accelerate growth."

The firm added that the proposed reduction of 205 jobs - reflecting around 11% of the firm's Irish workforce - are subject to consultation, and no redundancies will take effect until after a consultation process has concluded.

The Department of Enterprise confirmed they received a collective redundancy notification in relation to potential redundancies at PayPal.

Last March, the tech firm made a previous round of job cuts, laying off 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 planned to close its Dundalk offices with staff attached to the office continuing to work remotely. 

"PayPal is committed to ensuring that colleagues who leave under the proposed changes are treated fairly. We are offering discretionary enhanced redundancy and support packages to help them as they move to the next step in their careers," the spokesperson continued.

First established in Ireland more than 20 years ago, PayPal said it "remains committed to Ireland and plans to continue attracting the best possible talent in Ireland to meet the needs of our business."

The payments firm joins the running list of tech companies in Ireland to announce layoffs, following fellow industry giants including Meta, Dell, Salesforce, Twitter and most recently, Microsoft, who last week announced cuts impacting its gaming divisions including Activision Blizzard, which has a strong presence in Ireland.