Written answers

Wednesday, 5 March 2025

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Job Losses

Photo of Robert O'DonoghueRobert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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66. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has engaged with a company (details supplied) after the announcement of its intention to lay off its global employee base of 8.5% (1,750 people), of which more than 300 staff in Ireland have been notified that their roles are now “at risk”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9946/25]

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Workday established a presence in Ireland via acquisition in 2008 when it acquired Cape Clear, a Dublin based software company. Employment has increased from the initial 25 employed in Cape Clear in 2008 to over 2,000 today, drawn from 67 different countries.

The Dublin office has become Workday’s EMEA HQ with enterprise technical support, sales/marketing, HR, legal, real estate and finance activities. It is also the EU Centre for its Product Development and Infrastructure Engineering teams.

On Wednesday February 5th 2025, Workday announced plans, via an 8-k Investor SEC Filing to reduce its global workforce by c. 8.5% globally. It is the first major layoff in Workday’s history. The company has announced these plans as it is seeking to pivot structures and resources to prioritise investments such as AI. Consequently, this will negatively impact on certain roles as the company restructure and shift around resources.

My Department has received a Collective Redundancy Notification indicating that a number of staff will be made redundant by the company as part of its global downsizing. My foremost concern is with those employees and their families who may now be directly impacted. Government will be on hand to provide supports to those who need it, which may include:

• Provision of a detailed skills profile for the employees on the site; and when individuals will be available, which can be shared with other potential employers.

• Recruitment opportunities through identification and connection with other employers who may be hiring across the locality and wider region.

• Information sessions by the Department of Social Protection's Intreo Office to impacted employees on social welfare services and employment support services to support impacted employees’ transition to new employment opportunities.

• Identification and provision of training and further education opportunities for employees e.g. ETBs; Skillnet; Universities.

• Exploring opportunities to start your own business through LEOs and Enterprise Ireland.

The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes a number of legal obligations on employers proposing collective redundancies including-

•The requirement to consult and provide information to employees and their representatives for a 30-day period, before any notice of redundancy can issue.

•Employers must notify the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment of the proposals at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect.

IDA Ireland are fully engaged with the company both in Ireland and at Corporate and are staying close with them at this time.

On February 19th 2025, IDA Ireland launched a new five-year strategy, "Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation 2025-2029” that focuses on strengthening and maintaining long term investment with their existing client base. IDA Ireland continues to partner closely with their client as they aim to enhance their competitiveness and productivity.

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