EMC Corporation, the data storage company that employs 1,300 in Cork and Dublin, has announced it will cut its global workforce by 7 per cent following disappointing third-quarter results.

EMC has yet to decide where the estimated 1,300 redundancies will be sought - and it may be several weeks before it is known if either of its Irish operations will be targeted.

Three hundred workers lost their jobs at the Cork plant last April, as EMC felt the full force of the worldwide information technology (IT) downturn. A spokeswoman for EMC Ireland said it had been informed that further lay-offs were planned but that it remained unclear whether redundancies would be required in Ireland.

She said: "It may take some time for this to trickle down. It could be up to six weeks before we know how this will affect the Irish operation."

EMC's preliminary third- quarter results show it has failed to turn a profit despite earlier predictions to the contrary. The company, which employs more than 18,000 worldwide, expects to report total revenue of $1.25 billion (€1.28 billion) and a a loss of $0.02 per share for the quarter.

Mr Joe Tucci, EMC's president and chief executive, blamed continued instability in the tech sector and warned that the outlook remained bleak. He said: "The IT spending environment continues to be brutal. In fact, it got even worse at the very end of the quarter. Our third quarter was on track until late September. The harsh reality of reduced budgets and the uncertainty of the economic and geopolitical climate are weighing heavily on business confidence, causing key projects and the corresponding IT spend to be delayed."

He added: "We saw no significant change in the competitive environment during the quarter. We don't know when IT spending growth will resume."