'Disgraceful'- Penneys is planning to cut up to 100 jobs in Dublin head office

Primark, the parent company of Penneys in Ireland, is planning to cut around 150 jobs in Ireland, the UK and the US, with up to 100 of those jobs to be cut in Dublin alone.

Following the news, Irish people have expressed shock, sadness and anger on social media platforms towards the clothing franchise.

The 100 proposed redundancies are to be at the head office in Dublin, representing around 7% of the 1,500 staff based at the international headquarters in the city.

The planned job cuts are in HR, finance and procurement and are linked to a proposal to move a number of support function activities to a third party.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we need to evolve our operating model to best support this ambition," a Primark spokesperson told RTE.

"We're exploring how resourcing via external partners could help support our operations so that we can focus our own resources on what we do best."

"As part of this, we are now proposing that a number of support function activities move to a third party and we are beginning a collective consultation."

"This unfortunately will impact a number of Primark colleagues primarily in our head office operations."

"We understand how difficult this news is for those colleagues affected and we’ll be working to support them as best we can," Primark said.

Dublin Central TD Marie Sherlock said: “The news about the potential loss of up to 100 jobs in Penneys headquarters is devastating, and my thoughts are with those workers potentially impacted and their families.

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“I would implore management to explore every avenue available to them to save these jobs and to keep their winning team together.

"Penneys must work in a constructive fashion with the unions locally, recognising the skills and contribution of its workforce and examine any way to save these jobs.

“Penney’s is not just a retailer, it’s a beloved Irish brand deeply woven into the fabric of communities across the country and, in more recent years, across the globe.

“News that jobs may be outsourced will be very upsetting for staff involved and for their colleagues. A proud Irish workplace, Penneys only recently invested a huge amount in fitting out its headquarters in Dublin.

“The loss of 100 jobs is 7% of the workforce employed at Penney’s HQ - no small figure. Retaining pathways to employment for these workers is critical and I urge management to do all that they can to protect the jobs at risk.”

Irish people on social media have voiced their opinion on the proposed job cuts and most of them were shocked and saddened by the news.

One person commented: "Is this serious? I can't believe it" and another said: "Disgraceful".

Another person said, "This is how Irish business rewards customer loyalty - by taking jobs overseas. Boycott Penneys."