IDA Ireland has said the multinational technology sector in Ireland will continue to grow in future despite hundreds of jobs being cut by tech giants with Irish operations in recent days.
Reacting to layoffs by Meta, Twitter and Stripe, the state agency responsible for attracting foreign direct investment said the companies needed to reduce costs in light of the economic environment, reduced revenue forecasts and weakening company valuations.
“These layoffs are regrettable and our thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs," said Mary Buckley, interim CEO of IDA Ireland, in a statement.
"IDA continues to monitor the situation in the global technology sector and is actively engaged with its technology client base. We remain in close contact with the Tánaiste and officials in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
"The technology base in Ireland has been building for over 60 years and will continue to grow in the future, despite current challenges. The companies that have announced job losses in recent days will continue to operate in Ireland and are important companies in the global and Irish ecosystem."
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She added: "IDA’s focus is on the continued partnership with these companies to continue to grow their presence in Ireland and deepen their impact on the Irish economy.
"The underlying strength in the technology sector is driven by a number of factors, including the pace of digitalisation (across all sectors) and the associated need for new digital infrastructure and services."
FDI employment in Ireland grew to a record 275,384 last year, a net increase of 16,826, with relatively modest job losses.
Buckley said the agency will continue to work closely with clients while attracting technology, financial services and life sciences firms to Ireland.
"We remain attuned to new areas of opportunity for Ireland in an evolving investment landscape as well as exploring emerging areas of opportunity, ranging from digital technologies and microelectronics to advanced therapy medicinal products and developments in the renewable energy sector," she said.
She added that investors' commitment to Ireland "remains strong" and that Ireland's value position to business is "compelling" amid fierce competition for FDI and a volatile economic environment.
"We must remain competitive while working to address immediate issues related to the carrying capacity of the economy including housing, energy, water, infrastructure and planning as well as policies supporting talent and skills development," she concluded.
Meta this week confirmed it would cut approximately 350 jobs in Ireland after announcing global job losses of 11,000 or 14% of its workforce. Similarly, Stripe notified Tánaiste Leo Varadkar of up to 90 redundancies in Ireland after confirming plans to cut 1,000 jobs of 13% of staff.
Twitter last Friday began the process of making half of its global workforce of 7,000+ redundant, with half the company's 500 staff in Dublin expected to be axed as a number of teams were gutted following the installation of Elon Musk as CEO.
