IBM to create 800 new jobs at Irish hubs as tech titan announces AI and cloud projects

The tech giant – which has had an Irish base for 65 years, making it Ireland’s longest-standing tech multinational – employs around 3,000 people here.

It cut some roles in Ireland as part of the recent global wave of tech layoffs.

The new jobs will include extra headcount for IBM’s Waterford-based subsidiary, Red Hat, at present in the city through its acquisition of local start-up FeedHenry.

‘Ireland is now ranked as the fifth most advanced digital economy in the EU’

The new jobs will be primarily in research and development, digital sales and consulting.

The company says that its artificial intelligence research will include large language models and generative AI, most popularly seen in systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Ireland currently has IBM Research’s only facility in the EU.

The corporate giant, one of the oldest technology companies in the world, sells consulting and technology services to the financial and healthcare sectors in Ireland, as well as to some public sector entities.

The company says the three-year jobs investment is being supported by the IDA.

‘It will deliver a strong impact in Dublin, Cork and Waterford’

“This is a testament to the calibre of talent here in Ireland, one of many reasons Ireland continues to be a strategic location for IBM,” said James Kavanaugh, IBM’s chief financial officer.

The head of the IDA, Michael Lohan, said the investment was valuable in advancing AI, cybersecurity and cloud technology.

”It will deliver a strong impact in Dublin, Cork and Waterford,” he said.

IBM recently asked for voluntary redundancies, with Mr Kavanaugh telling investors in January that it wanted to make cost savings of $3bn (€2.76bn) by the end of this year.

The company’s sharpest restructuring effect on workers is expected to be felt in its Eastern European operations.

“Ireland is now ranked as the fifth most advanced digital economy in the EU, and having IBM choose Ireland for this new project is another vote of confidence in our country,” said Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke.

IBM has focused on global hybrid cloud and AI in recent years, as part of its core consulting business.

Its biggest facility is at its campus in Mulhuddart, in north country Dublin. It also has offices located in Cork Airport’s business park and in Waterford on the Cork Road.