Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney has said the announcement of 890 job redundancies at Accenture represents "a significant blow" to the workers involved and their families.
Accenture said that it is to make 890 staff from its Irish operations redundant.
The company, which offers management consultancy services here for other organisations, informed staff of the job losses.
It currently employs around 6,500 people in Ireland.
Mr Coveney said State agencies will work with the company and the workers to assess openings elsewhere in the economy.
"It is important to note that the workers involved are from a highly skilled sector and are likely to be sought after elsewhere in the broader economy.
"There are also a range of Government supports available to anyone who is being made redundant, including assisting with appropriate training and development opportunities and income supports," said Mr Coveney.
Monday's announcement follows a redundancy programme at Accenture earlier this year, in which 400 jobs were cut. It brings to 1,290 the total job losses at the firm so far this year.
It is understood that the announcement was shaped by the retrenchment in the tech industry.
Since late last year, the tech sector has laid off thousands of employees due to a downturn in demand caused by high inflation and rising interest rates.
Meta, Microsoft, Stripe, Google, Salesforce and X, formerly known as Twitter, have all cut jobs in Ireland in the last year, with Facebook-owner Meta also announcing a second round of redundancies in May to lower its headcount by almost 30% to 2,000.
Accenture said it will continue to focus on ensuring it has the right talent to serve its clients and run its business today.
In March, it initiated a series of actions to streamline its operations, including the departure of around 2.5% of its current global workforce.
"We will be commencing a collective employee consultation for a proposed redundancy programme that is expected to affect around 890 people at Accenture in Ireland. We do not plan to comment further while the consultation process is ongoing," a spokesperson said.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"Our business in Ireland continues to show strong performance and we remain focused on our strategy to be at the centre of our clients' business and help them reinvent themselves to reach new levels of performance.
"We continue to focus on ensuring we have the right talent to serve our clients, to invest in our people and recruit in critical skills areas. We remain firmly committed to our business in Ireland and will continue managing for the long-term," the spokesperson concluded.
Union calling on company to adopt 'voluntary first approach' to redundancies
The Financial Services Union, which represents some workers in Accenture, is calling on the company to "adopt a voluntary first approach" to the redundancy process.
The General Secretary of the FSU, John O'Connell, said it is "a shocking announcement, which will cause enormous distress" to staff working in the company.
"It is imperative that Accenture handle the 30-day consultation process properly and with great sensitivity," he said.
"During the previous consultation process, staff had real concerns about the criteria used by management to identify workers for redundancy, the lack of any real engagement on exploring ways to mitigate against redundancy, and the redundancy terms on offer.
"This time Accenture need to ensure that the employee representatives are employee nominated to ensure a fair and transparent consultation process," said Mr O'Connell.
In a statement, Sinn Féin's spokesperson on employment Louise O’Reilly said the redundancy announcement is "another crushing blow for workers, their families and communities".
She also said it was a "concerning blow for tech workers in Ireland and a worrying sign of continuing volatility in the sector".
Ms O’Reilly added: "It is essential that Accenture engage quickly and in good faith with the workers and their representatives regarding this announcement and fair redundancy package."
Additional reporting: Fergal O'Brien
