Business software supplier SAP, which employs over 1,200 people across three sites in Dublin and Galway, plans to cut about 2,200 positions, it said on Friday.

The total number of jobs affected will amount to about 3 per cent of SAP's worldwide workforce of 74,000, according to personnel chief Stefan Ries.

It’s uncertain how many jobs will go in the company’s home market of Germany or here in Ireland.

“It’s not about cost savings but rather being fit for the future,” Mr Ries said in an interview.

The downsizing, SAP’s second under chief executive Bill McDermott, comes as sales of software sold to businesses under traditional licenses gives way to cloud computing.

Web-delivered software, which stretches payments over time, requires engineers with different programming skills and is putting a dent in profit margins at SAP, which is the biggest maker of applications for supply chain, financial and human resources management.

A spokesperson for SAP in Ireland and the UK was unable to say how the decision might impact on staff locally.

“SAP is and continues to be a growth company. We continue to invest in growth areas while implementing required changes in other areas, to ensure they are lean and efficient for the future. These measures will impact about 3 per cent per cent of all global positions,” the spokesperson said.

“This is not about cost-cutting. On the contrary: we continue to support employees who want to expand their skills and qualify for growth areas. In addition we will again create new positions in those growth areas and plan to have more employees at the end of 2015 than at the start of the year,” she added.

In addition to seeking new placements for the affected workers, SAP will offer voluntary severance and early retirement programmes, Mr Ries said.

He declined to say how much the restructuring will cost the Walldorf, Germany-based company.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg