Ireland is braced for a wave of job cuts as it feels the impact of the tech giants downsizing their workforces.

Facebook parent company Meta is planning severe staff cuts as tech firms reverse the expansion seen during the lockdown.

Meta added more than 27,000 employees in 2020 and 2021 combined, taking its global workforce to 87,000, but there has been a contraction in business and digital advertising.

The Wall Street Journal says several thousand employees could be affected. Meta, which is expected to make an official announcement this week, employs 6,000 people in Ireland, half of whom are staff.

The company’s Irish operations include its international headquarters, its Clonee data centre, both in Dublin, and its ‘Reality Lab’ in Cork.

Payments firm Stripe – regarded as Ireland’s most important ever tech export to Silicon Valley – is releasing 1,000 workers, or 14% of its workforce.

Twitter is cutting its 7,500-strong global workforce by half. PayPal, with 2,000 staff, is laying off hundreds and Docusign, with 1,000 employees, is also shrinking. Coinbase has let people go, while Apple is reportedly set to freeze recruitment.

Ireland has become a home to a large number of global technology giants, attracted by its attractive tax rates. It has key operations for 16 of the top 20 global tech companies and the top three enterprise software providers. There are more than 37,000 employees in the industry, generating €35bn in annual exports.

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, Tencent and many more have chosen Ireland for major European operations.