Sales staff at Gateway Computer's Dublin-based European headquarters claim they have been told they may lose their jobs at the end of February unless they meet targets for over-the-phone sales.

But Gateway's European director of marketing, Mr Michael Maloney, said: "There are going to be no mass layoffs coming at the end of this month."

Sales staff make up about 200 of the company's 1,800 employees in the Republic. They do not make cold calls and say that because they rely on customers phoning into Gateway, they cannot increase sales when their phones are not ringing. However, Mr Maloney says calls remain strong but employees are not closing sales.