LAST UPDATE | 14 Nov 2022

IRISH-FOUNDED CUSTOMER service software firm Intercom is to cut its global workforce by just under 13%, leaving 39 jobs in Ireland at risk. 

In a statement today, the company confirmed it has “made the tough decision” to cut almost 13% of its workforce, 124 jobs, across every department and geography. 

In Ireland, this will make 39 roles at risk of redundancy, the company said. 

Intercom plans to relocate 14 roles from the US to Dublin.

“This amounts to a 5% reduction of our headcount in Ireland. We still remain fully committed to Ireland and it will remain our hub of innovation,” it said. 

The company has notified government officials and said it will soon enter into a 30-day consultation period for roles at risk of redundancy this month. 

“This is difficult news and we’re extremely sorry to say goodbye to many talented team members,” the company said in its statement. 

“The reality is that we grew our headcount too fast compared to revenue growth and where the market was headed. These changes put the company in a strong and healthy position to execute our new, more focused strategy and big plans for the next year and beyond.” 

Amazon

Elsewhere, the New York Times is reporting that Amazon plans to lay off approximately 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs starting as soon as this week. 

This would represent a little less than one percent of the group’s total payroll, which had 1.54 million employees worldwide at the end of September, not counting seasonal workers who are recruited during periods of increased activity like the Christmas holidays.

The Times said the cuts will focus on the company’s devices organisation, including the voice-assistant Alexa, as well as at its retail division and in human resources. 

The distribution by country was not specified.

The report said that the total number of employees laid off could change, but if confirmed, it would be the largest round of firings in the history of the 28-year-old company founded by Jeff Bezos.

This news comes as Bezos today said he will give away the majority of his wealth during his lifetime, becoming the latest billionaire to pledge to donate much of his vast fortune.

Bezos, whose “real-time” worth Forbes magazine estimates at roughly $124.1 billion, made the announcement in a joint CNN interview with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez.

The billionaire did not specify how – or to whom – he will give away the money, but said the couple were building the “capacity” to do it.

“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” Bezos said during the interview.

“It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work and very smart teammates. And I’m finding – and Lauren’s finding – that philanthropy is very similar. It’s not easy. It’s really hard.”

Last week, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced it was cutting 11,000 jobs, or about 13% of its workforce.

Online payment company Stripe and car-hailing app Lyft, also recently reported big layoffs.

Twitter, freshly acquired by Elon Musk, earlier this month fired about half of its 7,500 employees.

Includes reporting by Press Association and © – AFP 2022