Internet retailer Amazon.com, famous for its online bookshop, has promised to create 450 new jobs in Cork in a call centre to support its websites for the French, British and German markets.
The centre will be located at the Cork Airport Business Park and Amazon will receive grant assistance from IDA Ireland to establish the business.
The initiative is Amazon's second Irish development. The company, which ranks among the world's largest online retailers, opened a systems and network unit at the Digital Hub centre in Dublin last year.
Amazon has branched out from small beginnings as a book retailing pioneer to sell a range of products that now includes CDs, DVDs, videos, electronic gadgets and clothes. It has declared revenues of $8.4 billion (€7.05 billion) for 2005.
The Cork centre will service the company's European customers by phone and with support via e-mail. It will support an existing German call centre during peak times.
Amazon's decision to add to its Dublin office with a major operation in Cork follows the establishment of Irish operations by other big internet groups such as Google, Yahoo! and eBay.
The investment was welcomed by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin, whose constituency is in Cork.
In recent weeks, the Cork region has received news of an €820 million investment by bio-pharmaceutical group Amgen, which will create 850 jobs, and an investment by financial services group Citco, which will create more than 250 new jobs.
In addition, the EU competition body recently sanctioned a €48 million grant for US drug group Centocor, a development that ensures the creation of 750 jobs at Ringaskiddy.
"Cork offers Amazon the ability to provide our customers with multi-lingual support, something that is critically important as we continue to grow our business," said Jim Adkins, Amazon's director of European customer service.
Mr Martin expressed delight at Amazon's decision to open a new operation in Cork.
Speaking from Seattle during an IDA investment mission to the west coast of the United States, Mr Martin told The Irish Times that other high-tech and internet companies showed great enthusiasm about investing in Ireland.
"These companies believe that the Government's pro-enterprise, flexible approach distinguishes us from other governments they work with.
"Many of the companies speak about the talent pool, the skills base in Ireland, obviously the positive tax rate but increasingly the strong talent that emerges from our colleges," the Enterprise Minister added.
