I just heard some news about OCLC and wanted to discuss this with the community. Apparently they let go around 80 people from their Dublin office recently. The company is saying this happened because of AI technology changes in their business.
This seems like a big deal since OCLC is pretty well known in the library and information services world. I’m wondering what others think about this situation. Is this something we might see more of with other tech companies? How do you think AI is really affecting jobs in this sector?
Has anyone here worked with OCLC services before or know people who might be impacted by these layoffs? I’m curious about what this means for their future operations too.
This hits close to home - I’ve watched similar waves at my company. AI displacement is real, but most companies are doing it wrong.
Smart organizations don’t just cut people. They automate the repetitive tasks and move talent to higher-value work. OCLC’s huge - they’ve got tons of manual processes begging to be streamlined.
I’ve helped teams transition by building automation that handles boring tasks while people focus on strategy and innovation. The trick is knowing what to automate versus what needs human creativity.
Library services are perfect for this. Automate data processing, cataloging workflows, user requests. The remaining staff becomes way more productive instead of just shrinking headcount.
If OCLC wants to do this right, they need a platform that integrates everything and automates complex workflows without needing a dev team. That’s what I use for these situations.
Check out Latenode for workflow automation: https://latenode.com
I’ve been in the information services industry for twelve years, and this OCLC situation is part of a trend that really picked up steam around 2022. Library tech companies are getting crushed by pressure to modernize systems that are literally decades old. What bugs me about these Dublin layoffs is the timing. OCLC runs critical infrastructure for thousands of libraries worldwide. Cut staff this fast, especially technical people, and you’re asking for service disruptions that’ll hit end users hard. I’ve watched this happen before - companies rush into AI without thinking through the transition. OCLC’s problem is that their core services like WorldCat need deep domain expertise that takes years to build. You can’t just swap that institutional knowledge for AI systems, not yet anyway. Libraries need accurate metadata and reliable discovery services, and that still requires human oversight for quality control. From what I’m hearing through industry contacts, OCLC’s been pouring money into machine learning for cataloging automation. Makes business sense, but the execution feels rushed. Other companies in similar spots have handled these transitions way better - keeping key people while gradually automating the routine stuff.
yea, totally agree. it’s wild how AI is affecting jobs everywhere now, werent we just hearing about this sort of thing with other companies? it feels like a big wake-up call for the whole sector. hope everyone affected finds something soon.
The OCLC layoffs aren’t just about AI - it’s basic economics. I used their systems at an academic library, and Dublin handled tons of backend processing for European institutions. What worries me is how this’ll hit service reliability. They didn’t just cut admin roles - they axed technical staff who actually knew the complex library workflows. OCLC runs on subscriptions, so they’re always squeezed to cut costs while keeping global infrastructure running. Dublin had higher labor costs than other locations, making it an easy target. The AI angle is just convenient PR spin - this is standard cost-cutting. Library tech moves slow for good reason. Data integrity and system stability beat flashy new features every time. OCLC’s stuck trying to keep things reliable while shareholders want better margins. Expect more consolidation - smaller players will get crushed while big ones like OCLC dump experimental projects to focus on their money-makers.