PayPal to cut up to 205 jobs from Irish workforce

Payments company PayPal is to cut up to 205 jobs from its Irish workforce, about 11 per cent, as part of a global effort to “right-size” the company.

The cuts will bring the number of staff employed here to just more than 1,600.

Chief executive Alex Chriss, who took over in September from Dan Schulman, said earlier this week the company would reduce its workforce by about 9 per cent this year.

Staff in Ireland affected by the potential cuts have been informed, and the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment has been notified.

A spokeswoman for the company said the cuts were part of a “strategic transformation” that would position it for growth.

“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,” she said.

The payments company was an early disrupter in the industry, but it has seen a significant increase in competition in recent years as more fintechs entered the payments market. That has led to faltering earnings, and the company lowered its full-year guidance for adjusted operating margin.

But Mr Chriss has signalled his intentions to streamline the business and cut some of the bloat that had crept up since the pandemic.

The proposed job cuts in Ireland will be subject to consultation. PayPal said it would offer discretionary enhanced redundancy and support packages to departing staff.

The company, which employs more than 1,800 people in Ireland, said it remains committed to its business here. It is expected to continue hiring for strategic roles within the company.

The latest round of cuts will be a blow to the Irish workforce. PayPal was among the tech companies that cut staff throughout 2023, announcing early in the year that it was to reduce its global workforce by 7 per cent.

That included a number of jobs in Dublin and Co Louth, with an office in Dundalk also closed as part of the cost-cutting plan. The company announced it would sell its Ballycoolin offices and move to a smaller premises that could accommodate staff from both Dublin and Dundalk. Attendance at its offices had remained low following the pandemic, the company said.