US software giant Microsoft is to add a further 200 roles at its Dublin-based operation, as the company's Irish head warns that the rising cost of living in Ireland is becoming a "challenge" for its employees.
The latest expansion will bring the technology giant’s overall employee base in Ireland to 2,000 people, and follows a previous announcement to create 600 jobs in Ireland earlier in the year.
That the company is adding to its workforce again locally is all the more impressive given it announced plans to slash more than 3,000 jobs globally earlier this year as it looks to shift from software into cloud computing.
Speaking on Rte radio this morning, Cathriona Hallahan, managing director of Microsoft Ireland, said that the company has had “great success in hiring great talent” into Ireland, but has been talking to Government about the cost of living given rising rental and housing costs which are “becoming a challenge for some of our employees”.
On the group's tax practices, Ms Hallahan said, "We're making sure we're fully compliant with tax legislation in every country we have a presence in".
Microsoft announced 600 jobs for Ireland in February, 500 of which were for a new ‘inside sales’ facility, one of four such centres worldwide.
The company said 80 per cent of those 500 roles have already been filled with recruitment for the remaining positions nearing completion. The additional roles, which will also be based in the newly-opened centre, will be primarily for technical and solutions sales specialists.
Microsoft said it intended to have all 700 new hires for the sales centre finalised before the end of the year.
“The continued contribution of the Dublin-based inside sales team to the company at a global level ensures that we are in a strong position when we seek to attract further investment in Ireland,” Ms Hallahan said.
The company set up in Ireland in 1985, and has expanded operations over the years to encompass a number of divisions. Ms Hallahan said on Thursday that the company will relocate from its existing base in Sandyford to a new € 134 million campus nearby in Leopardstown within four weeks.
“It’s launching on time and within budget,” she said.
Microsoft was co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. It went on to become the world's largest software business with its valuation hitting an all-time record of more than $613 billion in December 1999.
The company, now headed by Satya Nadella, reported fourth quarter revenues of $24.7 billion in July, with turnover boosted by a 97 per cent rise in sales for its flagship cloud platform Azure.
