Dropbox confirms Dublin to be affected in global plan to cut 500 staff

The online company, which employs hundreds of staff at its European headquarters in Dublin, is letting 16pc of its workforce go.

Dropbox's Dublin office

Adrian Weckler

Dropbox, which employs hundreds of people in Dublin, has announced layoffs of 16pc, or 500 people, from its 3,100-strong global workforce.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed to the Irish Independent that the Irish employee base has been affected. No further details on the number of Irish staff to be let go have been divulged. Under Irish law, the company must enter a 30-day consultation period with potentially affected staff.

Dropbox does not disclose how exactly many people its European headquarters in Dublin employs, but the company has previously guided the figure of hundreds.

“I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our global workforce by about 16pc, or 500 Dropboxers,” wrote CEO Drew Houston in a memo to staff today.

“While our business is profitable, our growth has been slowing. Headwinds from the economic downturn have put pressure on our customers and, in turn, on our business. As a result, some investments that used to deliver positive returns are no longer sustainable.”

Mr Houston also said that developments in artificial intelligence meant that Dropbox has to restructure some parts of its business.

Speaking to the Irish Independent’s Big Tech Show podcast in November, Mr Houston said that Dropbox would remain committed to Dublin despite the tech downturn.

“We’re still very invested,” he said. “Tech companies may be in a period of contraction right now, but it will grow again. Dublin has been and will continue to be our headquarters.”