IBM to create up to 800 new high-tech Irish jobs, including roles in Cork

Up to 800 high-tech jobs will be shared by Cork, Waterford and Dublin following a major expansion announced yesterday by global computing giant IBM which said the people employed in the new roles would be helping build advanced software underpinned by the latest Artificial Intelligence technology.

While the Industrial Development Authority was unable to provide an exact breakdown of the jobs for the different locations, the agency said the investment by the multi-national would create hundreds of roles in research and development, digital sales and consulting. A key factor for the location of these jobs in Ireland was cited as the country’s status as the EU leader for the number of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates per capita.

The roles will be created across IBM sites in Dublin, Cork and at IBM’s subsidiary, Red Hat, located in Waterford, a statement released by the IDA disclosed last night.

Evolving

The multi-national has been in Ireland for more than 65 years and has been continually evolving its operations and capabilities to support the company’s global strategy. Today, IBM operations in Ireland help clients across key sectors such as financial services and healthcare streamline their business processes, increase productivity and gain competitive advantage through technology. Ireland is also host to IBM only research facility in the EU. 

Taoiseach Simon Harris welcomed the latest announcement and said the new roles would deliver ‘real impact’ to the Irish economy through job creation and ‘by strengthening specialist skills and expertise’.

“This news demonstrates Ireland’s continued attractiveness as a preferred location for global companies to build out their digitalisation, research and innovation capabilities,” he said.

IBM senior vice president and chief financial officer James Kavanaugh said the announcement was a ‘result of our strong relationship with IDA Ireland and the Irish Government’ and was also testament to the ‘calibre of talent here in Ireland’.

“As IBM continues to help organisations transform their businesses with hybrid cloud and AI, attracting, developing, and retaining talent remains a key priority,” said Mr. Kavanaugh.

Confidence

Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Peter Burke said the news that IBM was to create 800 jobs across Cork, Waterford and Dublin was ‘hugely welcome’ and described the company as a ‘long standing high value employer in Ireland for almost three quarters of a century’.

“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 Burke. 

“The Government fully supports advancements in AI and Digital Transformation, and these roles will allow for exciting innovative opportunities for many of our skilled workforce throughout the country.

“Thanks to IBM for your continued investment here and best of luck to all involved in this exciting new initiative.” 

IDA Ireland chief executive Michael Lohan described the news as a ‘remarkable initiative’ by IBM Ireland that would ‘not only drive transformation within IBM and Red Hat’s operations’ but would ‘deliver strong impact in Dublin, Cork and Waterford’.

“It is also set to deliver real uplift in the Irish technology ecosystem by advancing capabilities across key growth areas for IDA Ireland such as cloud, AI, quantum and cybersecurity,” said Mr Lohan. 

“IDA Ireland has partnered with IBM for more than 60 years and we look forward to continuing to do so throughout this exciting project.” 

Roles in IBM and Red Hat as part of this new initiative are already being advertised on the respective websites of both companies.