At least 150 people working at a financial services company in Kerry are set to be laid off.
Fintech company Fexco made the announcement in an email to staff and said they plan to reduce staff through a voluntary redundancy programme.
Fexco was established in Killorglin in 1981 and now employs 2,500 people across the world.
More than 1,000 of those are based in Killorglin.
Fexco Group Chief Executive Denis McCarthy said: “Early on in the crisis, rather than cutting jobs, we took steps to reduce costs through a three-month phase of graduated pay cuts.
“Unfortunately, we now need to reduce our cost base further to protect the business for the long term.
Our management teams have completed their business reviews to support the next phase of our response plan.
Every team has been tasked with conducting a root-and-branch review of all non-pay operating costs and has now been set a specific target of reductions to achieve for the remainder of 2020 and to downsize budget expectations for 2021.
“Despite our efforts, we find ourselves in a position that I would have considered unthinkable just a few months ago.
“With volumes of business sharply reduced it is not possible to maintain current staff levels, which has meant difficult decisions have had to be taken.”
