Mr Breathnach added: “Serious questions also have to be asked as to why eBay chose to close its operations just over three years after moving its European HQ to Dundalk”. The company is due to begin a formal consultation process with the employees shortly.
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A spokeswoman for Ebay said: “We can confirm that Paypal has served us notice as tenants of its Dundalk facility”.
She said it was important to point out the reason eBay are leaving is because PayPal are expanding.
Ms O’Connor added: “It is hard to speak about positives at a time when workers have just discovered they may soon lose their jobs”.
For some of those employed in eBay in Dundalk, they will be facing the prospect of being made redundant for the second time in four years, as some of the workers joined eBay after Vodafone cut it’s workforce in the town.
Dundalk Chamber of Commerce president Michael Gaynor has described the impending closure of eBay’s office in Dundalk as “very, very worrying”.
PayPal said in a statement: “Following eBay’s announcement today, we wish to reaffirm PayPal’s commitment to Ireland and our growing Operations Centres in Dundalk and Dublin”.
“It’s bad enough with Brexit looming over the town without this”.
Labour Party senator Ged Nash said the decision was “a major blow to the town and to the region”.
“I hope that Paypal might be in a position to offer some of those people jobs, so that we could hold on to some of them”.
After the split, PayPal became landlords of the facility in Dundalk from which both companies have been based.
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Asked about reports in the press over concerns about the future of the plant earlier in the year, the minister said the IDA was working closely with eBay, but the company have decided at board level to cease operation in Dundalk.
