Britain's leading cable company, NTL, confirmed plans to cut 2,000 jobs over the next two to three years.
"There is no redundancy programme in place, we are just looking at streamlining our systems. The job cuts are about improving efficiency and using new technology," said an NTL spokeswoman.
As a result of the job cuts, NTL's workforce would fall to 12,000, she said. The job losses were first reported in today's Financial Times.
NTL Ireland lost €28.3 million in 2002 despite significantly increasing its turnover. The cable firm's pre-tax losses rose from €24.3 million in 2001, a year when NTL Ireland halted the upgrade of its network when it ran out of cash.
The cable company has 346,200 customers following a decision to cut off 16,000 customers for non-payment of bills.