Irish Examiner view: Stripe layoffs add a dash of reality about Ireland's digital economy  

Collison brothers' frank email may mean difficulty for staff — but it's also a wake-up call about the prospects of the industry

In their email to Stripe staff, founders Patrick and John Collison admitted they had been over-optimistic about growth potential for 2022 and 2023. File picture

The announcement that global payments company Stripe is set to lay off 14% of its staff was enough to give pause to anyone, and not just because the company is an Irish success story.  

Founded by John and Patrick Collison of Limerick, Stripe plans to cut its numbers because — as evidenced in a frank email from Patrick Collison to employees — they had been too optimistic about the growth in the digital economy in 2022 and 2023, and had hired too many people.