Fears are mounting over significant job losses at outsourcing firm Covalen, which provides services to tech giant Meta, as the company begins a new round of redundancy consultations at its Dublin operations.
Covalen confirmed it has entered discussions with a number of employees regarding potential layoffs but has not disclosed how many roles may be affected. The company declined to address reports suggesting that as many as 720 positions could be at risk.
“The company is engaging directly and proactively to support the affected teams through this transition and is following the required consultation process in line with our obligations,” Covalen said in a statement.
The firm added that workers continue to have access to wellbeing supports, noting: “All employees continue to have access to our employee wellbeing support through Covalen's Employee Assistance Programme.”
This marks the second redundancy process initiated by the company in recent months. In November 2025, Covalen began consultations over an earlier round of cuts, with reports at the time indicating that approximately 400 roles were under threat.
Tensions have already been high among staff. In January, employees affiliated with the Communications Workers’ Union staged strike action amid a dispute over redundancy terms and union recognition.
Union representative John Bohan said the latest developments have sparked anger among workers. “Given what went on in November last year, with the previous round of redundancies, people expected further cuts down the line, but the extent, scale, and short notice of this has just really enraged many of our members,” he said.
Covalen provides content moderation and artificial intelligence training services for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The announcement comes shortly after Meta revealed plans to reduce its global workforce by around 8,000 roles, equivalent to roughly 10% of its staff. It remains unclear how these global cuts will impact the company’s Irish workforce, where it directly employs approximately 1,800 people.
In March, Meta also signaled a strategic shift toward increased use of advanced AI technologies, stating that such systems would reduce its dependence on third-party providers for content moderation services.
