Sitel, an US outsourcing firm with an office in Dublin, said yesterday it had created 150 new jobs following a big contract win with the software giant Microsoft.
The firm, which set up an Irish office in Park West Business Park in 1997, has hired the additional staff to provide customer service and sales support to Microsoft's British and Irish operations.
The implementation of the outsourcing deal between Microsoft and Sitel began in February and is expected to reduce operatingcosts for Microsoft, which bases its European operations centre in Dublin.
Mr Nick Wheeler, managing director of Sitel Ireland, said the new contract meant its staff were handling calls from a range of people including individual PC users and information technology professionals.
"Our Dublin operation was selected by Microsoft because we have the skill set and technology to enable the rapid implementation of Microsoft's programme," he said.
The deal concluded by Microsoft and Sitel is a three year European contract worth about $90 million (€79.9 million). It was negotiated by Mr Kevin Dillon, Microsoft vice-president for Europe and formerly head of Microsoft's European operations centre based in Dublin.
The decision by Microsoft to outsource some of its operations follows similar moves by a range of Irish firms including, most recently, Bank of Ireland.
Microsoft Ireland said there would be no job losses at the firm's Dublin operations because of the contract with Sitel. A Microsoft spokeswoman said there were no implications for staff in Dublin as these jobs were already outsourced.
