Google's parent company, Alphabet, is axing about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce.
In an email to employees, the company's chief executive, Sundar Pichai, says he takes full responsibility for the decisions that led to the situation.
He says over the past two years the company hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.
The roles being eliminated result from a rigorous review of the company.
Google employs around 5,000 people in Ireland.
Sundar Pichai sent the following email to Google employees earlier today: "Googlers, I have some difficult news to share. We’ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We’ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices.
"This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with. I’m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here."
