PayPal is to close its Dundalk office on 31 March and make 62 staff redundant in Dundalk and Dublin.
Remaining staff in Dundalk will move to remote working.
The company is to sell its site in Ballycoolin in Dublin and move to a smaller, more central location in Dublin.
The 62 redundancies announced today represent about 3% of PayPal's Irish workforce of around 2,100.
At least 35 of the layoffs will be in Dublin and 27 jobs are to be cut in Dundalk.
PayPal said that the closure of the Dundalk office will impact a small number of contract workers, who are employed by third parties to manage facilities on site.
"Those third parties will be able to provide more specific information, as some of these workers may be redeployed," PayPal said in a statement.
"PayPal will still play an active role in the local community," the company added.
approximately 2,000 people in the country after these changes
Maeve Dorman, Senior Vice President at PayPal, said that ways of working at the company had completely transformed over the last three years.
"Employees, including myself, have really embraced the flexibility of our new working models and the increased opportunity to work from home," Ms Dorman said.
"As a result, employee footfall at our offices at Dublin and Dundalk has remained consistently low. Nonetheless, we have maintained our strong community connections and supports in these regions – and will continue to do so," she added.
PayPal said it will start formal consultations about the proposed job cuts when employee representatives have been elected and that no redundancies will take effect until after the consultation process has concluded.
PayPal said it remained committed to Ireland and will continue to employ approximately 2,000 people in the country after these changes.
In January, PayPal announced 2,000 job cuts globally which is around 7% of its total workforce.
In a message to staff at the time, the President and CEO of PayPal Dan Schulman said that while the company has made progress in rightsizing its cost structure over the last year, it needed to do more.
PayPal is the latest in a series of tech companies to announce layoffs.
It follows similar announcements in recent months from companies including Twitter, Meta, Stripe, Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, Google, SalesForce, HubSpot and TikTok.
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Local businesses in Dundalk hope the impact on the area will be minimal.
Paddy Malone, from Dundalk Chamber, said: "It's not the blow that it could have been. The wages are still going to be coming in so the pay packet that everybody has been receiving last week will be still here in April. Therefore, the aftershocks normally associated with a closure will not occur."
"If we had lost 1,000 jobs, and they were gone, the impact would not be just on those 1,000 but it would also be on everybody else, the shops and everything else that would spin off from that, so we're not going to see any dramatic change in the town."
"It will be strange that our largest employer in the town, or one of the largest employers in the town, doesn't have a physical presence but that's the world post-Covid," Mr Malone added.
He welcomed PayPal's renewed commitment to Ireland and the company’s pledge to maintain "strong community connections and supports."
Asked if there were concerns that some of those employed by the company could now leave the Dundalk area, Mr Malone said: "If somebody is living and working already in PayPal, to move you’d need to have a very good reason for doing it - upending schools and finding housing and everything else - so no I think the people will stay here".
Government will engage with those affected
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Neale Richmond said today's job losses are part of an overall trend in the tech sector where there are reductions and readjustments going back to 2020 and 2021 estimations.
Speaking on RTÉ's Drivetime, Mr Richmond said that in PayPal's situation, this is a "much lower reduction" than their global average, but ultimately people were not coming into their offices so they are now looking for a new venue for their remaining staff.
He said the Government would engage with those affected to ensure all statutory responsibilities are met and to help them retrain if they wish.
Local representatives for the Louth area have reacted strongly to the news of job losses at PayPal.
Labour TD Ged Nash said it was "dreadful news for PayPal workers in Dundalk and Dublin".
He urged the Minister for Enterprise and the IDA to engage with the company "to stave off closure of the Louth facility ".
Mr Nash also said that the 28 day consultation period must be meaningful.
Midlands North West MEP Colm Markey, who lives in Louth has spoken with company representatives this afternoon and is seeking another meeting "to clarify the company's future in the North East".
Mr Markey said he was deeply disappointed and seriously concerned about the closure of the Dundalk office and loss of 27 jobs there.
"Firstly, my thoughts are with all those workers affected by today’s decision. The impact of job losses on individuals and their families cannot be underestimated and the Government will do all it can to support those who have been laid off," the Fine Gael MEP said.
"I spoke with PayPal management this afternoon and expressed my serious concerns about their decision to close the office in Dundalk and force remaining employees to work remotely. I asked them to consider moving to a smaller office or maintaining some level or presence in a co-working space.
"I want a guarantee that PayPal continues to support the north east region and I will be seeking a further meeting to clarify the matter," he added.
Additional reporting Fergal O'Brien
