Island-based e-gaming giant PokerStars has announced job losses.

Staff were informed of the news today but numbers of redundancies have not been released.

In a statement, parent company the Stars Group insisted that its Isle of Man base would continue as a ’critical operational hub’.

A spokesman said: ’As we’ve previously noted, our international segment (PokerStars) has faced many headwinds over the last year, including disruptions in our key markets.

’As a result, we are pursuing operational initiatives, including cost-optimisation initiatives, as we’ve done in the past, to reassess our fixed cost base and realign our costs with our global growth strategy.

’We believe the proposed reductions in headcount on the Isle of Man are a component of our overall plans to position us to deliver our mid-term growth targets and long-term sustainable growth.

’Apart from the personal impact on affected individuals, today’s news will have little foreseeable impact on our overall operations in the Isle of Man, which has always been a critical operational hub for the company and will remain so.’