Around 350 Ireland-based Meta jobs are under threat

Hundreds of jobs at Meta’s Irish operations are at risk, with around 350 roles understood to be under threat as the Facebook parent presses ahead with another major round of global cutbacks.

Meta currently employs about 1,800 people in Ireland.

The company began informing employees today about how they may be affected by its plan to eliminate 8,000 jobs worldwide, equivalent to roughly 10% of its total workforce.

Staff based in Ireland received emails early this morning advising them whether they could be affected by the proposed redundancies.

Meta has not outlined publicly what the reductions will mean for its Irish business, but sources said any redundancy process here will be governed by Irish law and State guidelines, with the company expected to meet all legal obligations.

Details of the latest cuts first surfaced last month, when management circulated a memo to employees saying the company would also leave unfilled thousands of vacancies it had previously been recruiting for.

Reuters reported that today’s layoffs will coincide with a new wave of organisational restructuring designed to sharpen the company’s AI workflows.

In a staff memo issued earlier this week, Meta Chief People Officer Janelle Gale said the company intends to reassign 7,000 workers to new projects linked to AI workflows and remove some managerial positions.

The latest reductions come as Meta ramps up its investment in artificial intelligence.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has previously said 2026 would mark the point when AI begins to fundamentally reshape how the company operates, with spending on AI tools expected to lead to “flattening teams”.

“We’re starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person,” Mr Zuckerberg said in January.

In March, it emerged that 15 jobs at the company’s Irish operation were also under threat in a move tied to the adoption of AI.

Meta employees in Ireland were already caught up in another redundancy programme in January last year, when the company said it would cut about 5% of its “lowest performing” staff globally.

The company had earlier reduced its Irish headcount by about 840 roles through redundancy rounds in November 2022 and again in May 2023.

‘Govt will have your back’ – Burke

Enterprise Minister Peter Burke said the Government would stand behind workers affected at Meta.

“My message is very clear to employees in Meta, first of all the Government will have your back. We will support you to gain employment again,” he said.

“We have a very vibrant employment market right now, about 2.83 million people employed and particularly in the skill sets that many have in Meta and the IT sector, there is a huge demand in the wider economy the for those skills.

“Any additional training that is needed will be given by the Government.

“I acknowledge that it is very distressing when you have an uncertain future, when you get news of this magnitude but the government will work with you to support you and to grow your career path.

“Any support that families who are getting this news will need will be given by the government right across skills and supports which will be critically important.

“IDA Ireland are engaging very closely with Meta over the coming hours and days to ensure that we still remain in a good position in terms of job numbers and it is key that a lot of the engineering function and AI capacity will continue to be built in Ireland,” the minister added.

Labour call for strategy to protect jobs

Labour enterprise spokesperson George Lawlor said Mr Burke and Minister of State Niamh Smyth should now put forward a strategy to shield tech sector employment as redundancies continue to ripple through the industry.

“This is a deeply worrying and stressful time for anyone employed by Meta and I firstly want to express my solidarity with those people working there, their families and their communities,” Mr Lawlor said.

“Minister Burke must work with Meta to ensure fairness is applied and to protect jobs and livelihoods where possible. We need to see a comprehensive plan in place for the State to help secure jobs and protect worker’s incomes in the event their employer and sector faces a downturn or a change in business model.

“It is not just workers who are directly employed by these companies which are affected either. The cumulative effect of these cuts are devastating for families and for people who are indirectly employed by the tech industry are too.

“Combined with spiralling food, fuel, energy, and housing prices, and the shameful rental changes that are increasing rents and driving evictions, this is a very worrying time for working people in the sector, and indeed across the country,” he added.

The Financial Services Union (FSU), which represents workers in the tech sector, said events were moving toward a dangerous point where the roll-out of AI is outpacing regulation.

“Full and transparent stakeholder involvement is required from unions to employers and regulators to legislators to manage the change that AI will make to the workplace and to jobs,” an FSU spokesperson said.

“Without that collaboration we will continue to see announcements of job losses like we have seen today,” the union added.