Chinese information and communications technology solutions provider Huawei is doubling its Irish workforce with 50 new jobs.

Huawei has announced the opening of a new research and development (R&D) centre spread across two sites in Dublin and Cork city.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said Huawei was one of the companies he met on his recent trade mission to China.

“Today’s announcement that they are opening a new research and development centre, creating an additional 50 new jobs in Ireland, is very welcome,” he said.

The new centre will initially focus on Huawei’s next generation customer experience management product SmartCare, supporting the company in providing customer services to telecoms operators in Ireland and internationally. Future expansion at the sites is expected.

The initiative is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.

Derek Ding, managing director of Huawei Ireland, said the expansion showed a significant commitment to Ireland over the next three years, with many more highly skilled jobs to be created.

“Cork and Dublin were chosen for their well-educated, skilled workforce, offering the high quality of talent needed,” he said.

Recruitment process

“The recruitment process has already begun, and 12 positions have already been filled.”

Huawei first established its Irish sales office in 2004, and employs more than 140,000 people globally, including 40 people in Ireland.

Customers include Eircom, O2 Ireland, BT Ireland, VDF Ireland, and H3G Ireland.

Last year the US House of Representatives intelligence committee said the telecommunications company should be shut out of the US market because potential Chinese state influence on it posed a security threat.

Based on classified and unclassified information, Huawei “cannot be trusted to be free of foreign state influence and thus poses a security threat to the United States and to our systems”, the committee claimed.