Telefonica’s Irish operation, O2 Ireland, announced Wednesday morning that it will cut its Irish workforce by 5.5 per cent – around 100 jobs.

The firm said Wednesday morning that the staff will be laid off in a vountary redundancy programme. Incereasing competition was cited by the firm for the layoffs.

O2 Ireland – the second largest mobile operator in Ireland – was bought by Spanish giant, Telefonica in 2006. It was originally part of Denis O’Brian’s Esat business. It currently has around 1.6 million subscribers.

Earlier this month the company  posted a 1.5 per cent drop in its Q4 services revenue and noted that its ARPU (post and pre-paid combined) had fallen year-on-year from EUR46 to EUR45.

Vodafone Ireland also announced recently its intention to layoff 80 staff.