Video-sharing platform TikTok is to create 1,000 new jobs in Ireland as part of its future expansion plans.
IDA Ireland, together with Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Tánaiste Leo Varadkar on Friday welcomed the news, which was shared with them at a meeting with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew and senior company leaders.
They were advised of TikTok’s strategy globally and Ireland’s role in it before they were updated on TikTok’s growth in Ireland and future expansion plans. The new hires will bring the group’s total headcount here to about 3,000.
Following the meeting, Mr Martin said: “Tik Tok’s latest expansion further embeds Ireland as an important hub for its European and global operations, and is clear evidence of its commitment to this country.
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“The substantial number of additional, highly skilled jobs being created is testament to the strength of Ireland’s offering, which includes a strong talent base and collaborative ecosystem.
“The Government remains dedicated to cultivating an environment in which businesses of all sizes can succeed and prosper here, both now and into the future.”
Mr Varadkar said TikTok’s growth since coming to Ireland has been “truly incredible”.
“At the start of 2022, TikTok had over 2,000 employees in Ireland, and the addition of another 1,000 this year really underlines the company’s commitment to Ireland, our people and the environment we have worked hard to create here,” he said.
“There are more people employed in Ireland now than at any other point in our history. We don’t take it for granted and will continue to work hard to make companies like TikTok feel welcome here.”
IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said: “TikTok has expanded rapidly since establishing in Dublin in 2019.
“News of these additional 1,000 jobs, adding to its already substantial headcount, underscores the strategic importance of Ireland in TikTok’s global operations, with its Dublin site now [a] base for a number of the company’s critical functions.”
The announcement follows agreement reached by the company in recent months on the heads of terms on agreements to rent two sites in Dublin.
The sites are the 177,000sq ft of office space at the Marlet Property Group’s Shipping Office scheme and the 80,000sq ft available at Iput’s Tropical Fruit Warehouse in the south docklands.
The Chinese-owned social media giant is likely to enter into a 12-year lease on the properties at a rental level in excess of €60 per sq ft.
The combined 257,000sq ft of office accommodation available will give TikTok the capacity to add some 2,500 workers to the 2,000 people it expects to accommodate in its new headquarters at the Sorting Office in Dublin’s south docks.
In the case of the Sorting Office, TikTok signed a deal at the end of last November to occupy the property on the basis of a 15-year lease with 10 years’ term certain and a rent-free period of about 18 months.
The rental level agreed for the office scheme is understood to be between €55-€60 per sq ft.
Taken together, the three offices give TikTok’s Irish operations an overall footprint of 459,000sq ft across three buildings within a short walk of each other in the city’s south docklands.
The Sorting Office is situated on Cardiff Lane, while the Shipping Office and Tropical Fruit Warehouse are located on either side of it on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
