Ireland's Tech Sector Faces Acute AI Job Crisis as 20,000 ICT Jobs Lost in 12 Months
Ireland's ICT employment collapses amid AI adoption, with youth employment down a third since 2023 and major tech firms announcing sweeping cuts.
Ireland’s ICT Employment Crisis
Ireland has lost roughly 20,000 ICT jobs in the past 12 months alone, according to reporting from May 2026. The losses hit younger workers particularly hard: employment in ICT among the under 30s in Ireland dropped by almost one third between 2023 and 2025.
In the tech sector specifically, young workers aged 15 to 29 experienced employment falling 20% between 2023 and 2025. These figures are especially significant because more than 6% of Ireland’s workforce is employed in the tech sector, higher than the European Union average.
Major Tech Companies Announce Cuts
The job losses reflect aggressive cost-cutting by major technology employers. Meta announced combined cuts of 1,070 jobs with one of its contractors, Covalen, as the social media giant invests in AI teams that would result in flattening teams. Oracle told the Irish Government it plans to axe some 150 Irish jobs, about 15 per cent of its workforce in the Republic, related to spending on AI.
Entry-Level Roles Disappear
Nearly half of Irish employers have reduced the number of entry and graduate-level roles available in 2026 according to a survey by recruitment platform IrishJobs. This trend aligns with findings from Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab, which found a 16% decline in early-career employment across the most AI-exposed occupations since late 2022, when OpenAI’s ChatGPT was released.
The Broader Picture
Ireland’s experience reflects a global pattern. Tech and finance sectors lost 28,000 jobs per month on average in 2026, up from lower rates in previous years, in the two sectors where AI adoption rates have been fastest. AI is being cited as the most cited reason behind over 100,000 job cut announcements in 2026.
The Irish jobs market is showing acute exposure to AI-driven disruption. In November 2025, over 11% of all job postings in Ireland on Indeed referenced AI-related terms, around three times the level recorded in both the U.S. and Europe.
Source: RTE
Developments since publication
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PwC analysed more than one billion job advertisements in 27 countries and territories for the 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer. Source
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Companies operating in the most AI-exposed sectors recorded 34% productivity growth in 2025 relative to 2018, compared to 24% for companies least able to use AI. Source
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The top 20% of the most AI-exposed companies achieved average labour productivity growth of 163% relative to 2018 – nearly five times higher than the most AI-exposed companies overall. Source
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Headcount growth at the most AI-exposed companies was 52% in 2025 relative to 2018 baseline levels, compared to 36% for the least AI-exposed companies. Source
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The average wage premium for workers with AI skills hit 62%, up from 57% the previous year. Source
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Jobs requiring specific AI skills grew roughly 69% in 2026, almost eight times faster than the overall jobs market growth of 9%. Source
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Entry-level roles most exposed to AI in the US are seven times more likely to require traditionally senior-level skills like leadership and creativity, based on analysis of 2.4 million entry-level job Source
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Job openings for 'seniorised' entry-level roles grew 35% since 2019, while other entry-level roles shrank by 10%. Source
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'Professionalised' roles are seeing twice the growth in available jobs and 42% faster salary growth than those categorised as 'democratised' roles. Source
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AI could affect more than 40 per cent of jobs in Ireland, either replacing them or complementing them, according to the IMF. Source
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The IMF said Ireland was 'relatively more exposed' than other advanced economies to 'novel' economic risks that AI technology poses to employment and to financial markets. Source
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Meta is cutting 20 per cent of its Irish workforce – 350 jobs – to make savings to fund its investment in AI. Source
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Oracle plans to axe some 150 Irish jobs, about 15 per cent of its workforce in the Republic, as the group deals with a cash crunch related to spending on AI. Source
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IMF mission chief to Ireland Yan Sun stated that Ireland's exposure to AI transformation is higher than most advanced countries. Source