Jefferson Smurfit will close a Dublin printing operation as the technology slowdown shows the first significant signs of spreading to more traditional industries.
The 118 job losses at Smurfit Print, which had technology firms among its customers, came on the day HewlettPackard announced it was cutting its global workforce by 6,000 in the face of falling revenues.
The California-based company, which has 2,300 employees at its plant in Leixlip, Co Kildare, did not say where the job cuts would be made. A spokeswoman for Hewlett-Packard Ireland said she was confident any impact on the group's Irish operations would be minimal.
The news is the latest grim announcement from the technology and telecoms sectors. It comes less than a week after the microchip giant, Intel, announced it was seeking 170 voluntary redundancies at its Irish plant, also in Leixlip, where it employs 3,400 people.
And the computer manufacturer, Gateway, announced a review of operations that could see the closure of its Dublin-based European headquarters, which employs 900. There is uncertainty also about jobs at Lucent and Compaq.
"Economies around the world continue to weaken as we move through the quarter," said Ms Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard chairwoman and chief executive officer. "Our consumer business is being particularly hard hit, with revenues expected to be down 24 per cent."
Hewlett-Packard is the latest computer-maker to announce falling revenues and job cuts in the face of the first decline in PC sales since 1986.
The company has been caught in a debilitating price war for personal computer sales with its rivals, Dell and Compaq. This is the first major round of job cuts and accounts for 6.5 per cent of the 93,000-strong work force. So far this year, the company has shed about 1,000 jobs.
Against the background of the slowdown, the Taoiseach has warned the social partners to avoid a return to "leapfrogging" pay claims and industrial action.
Addressing the annual plenary meeting of Ministers and officials with the social partners in Dublin Castle, Mr Ahern said a "continued sharp focus" on stability and competitiveness was all the more important today, given the uncertainties surrounding the global economic climate.