US electronics manufacturer Flextronics - which has a factory in Tullamore, Co Offaly - is cutting 10,000 jobs worldwide.
This translates as 15 per cent of the company's workforce.
Flextronics announced the cuts as it announced a net loss for its third quarter of $329.8 million. Last year it made profits of $49.9 million in the same quarter.
Last September, Flextronics bought Dublin freight firm IEC in a deal reportedly worth about £60 million (€76 million).
It is unclear if Flextronics' Irish operations will be affected, but the company said that the job cuts will be in high cost centres that it doesn't plan to use again.
Mr Michael E Marks, chairman and chief executive of Flextronics, says: "While we believe the pipeline of new opportunities remains robust, we continue to plan our operations as though no new business will come our way."
As well as the job cuts, the company plans to close 20 per cent of its factory space.