U.S. computer maker Dell Inc. announced Thursday it will slash more than 40 per cent of its Irish work force and shift its European manufacturing operations to Poland.

The move is sure to be a devastating blow to the Irish economy. Dell is Ireland's second-largest employer, its biggest exporter and in recent years has contributed about five per cent to the country's gross domestic product.

Economists warn that each Dell job underpins another four to five jobs in Ireland.

Managers told approximately 4,300 Irish employees Thursday that 1,900 of them would lose their jobs between April 2009 and January 2010.

By then, the company said, it plans to have transferred the entire Irish production of laptops and desktop computers to a newer Dell plant in Poland — where labour costs are significantly lower.