Social media giant Twitter is set to axe 140 staff from its Irish operation, it was reported last night
It comes on the day it temporarily closed its offices in Dublin and other global locations. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the Department of Enterprise has “finally” received redundancy notices from Twitter.
He added: “My thoughts are with the staff who are affected, which is just over a third of the staff in Dublin. They can be reassured that they’ll receive a lot of Government help.”
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New Twitter boss Elon Must had warned staff they either have a choice to work more intense hours or to quit their jobs with just three months’ pay. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has branded Twitter’s recent behaviour as “unacceptable”.
Speaking in Newry, Co Down, yesterday, the Taoiseach said Twitter’s actions were unacceptable and Irish employment laws will apply to actions taken by the company. He added: “It is very concerning what we’re hearing overnight.
"The IDA is in constant contact with the company. It is very concerning for the employees. Employees of any company must be treated with respect and dignity. That’s what our legal framework governing industrial relations demands.
“It’s the most basic requirement that people are treated with dignity and respect. It’s unacceptable what’s happening within Twitter in terms of employees who must have very uncertain futures.
“There’s a need for coherence and a clear road map. And then in terms of the various locations, such as Dublin where Twitter have employees."
One employment lawyer said any staff axed because of Musk’s directive could mount a legal case. Richard Grogan added: “There are rules in relation to hours of work which can’t be more than 48 [per week] at any stage.
“People cannot be expected to work longer hours than that and they equally have to get proper notification of overtime.”
”It’s very much case by case but the maximum compensation is two year’s salary but you could also be reinstated on your original contract. And there are other options for the employee.”
There are also job loss fears in other tech firms such as in Meta, Stripe and Amazon.
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