Meta workers are bracing for another round of job cuts. We should all be nervous |
Ireland’s tech sector is shedding jobs and news from Meta, expected next week, is going to put this right back in focus. Over the years, Ireland has often escaped the worst of the job cuts in big digital tech firms – but with Meta this may not be the case
“AI” replacing jobs will get the blame – and is part of the story. But there is a lot more going on, too, and one key question. Is this just a cyclical downturn in jobs in tech after a big post-Covid hiring surge, or is there something more serious going on under the bonnet: a structural threat to one of Ireland’s key sectors?
Such is the upheaval and reshaping of the sector, largely due to AI, that this will all take time to play out. But we need to look at what we do know. Big tech went on an extraordinary hiring binge after Covid. In Ireland, employment in the sector rose from about 130,000 when the pandemic hit to a peak of close to 190,000 by late 2024 and by the end of last year it was back at 170,000. What is happening now is, at least in part, a pulling back from what was an over-expansion generally. There are also company-specific factors such as Meta’s failed Metaverse project, which had been launched in 2021.
If that was all that was going on, it would be reassuring in a strategic sense, albeit not for those who are losing their jobs. Industries often have up and down cycles. And even in the midst of this one, hiring for many roles still continues, judging by more up-to-date indicators. One of the concerning issues in the months ahead will be that Meta and some others have also signalled a freeze or slowdown of hiring, which will make life harder for graduates and may also slow........