Three US firms will bring 264 new jobs to Cork in IDA Ireland-backed initiatives announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, yesterday.
Ms Harney announced that Global TeleSystems (GTS), a leading provider of e-business, Internet and telecommunications services throughout Europe, would create 150 new jobs at a shared services centre which will be located at the Cork airport business park. Global TeleSystems operates Europe's largest cross-Border fibre-optic network and its largest Internet backbone. It already has operations in Dublin.
The Tanaiste also announced that Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, one of the largest hotel and leisure companies in the world, would create a further 87 new jobs at its Cork reservations centre over the coming months, bringing the total employment there to 250 people.
Starwood, a Fortune 500 company, has had a presence in Cork since 1994. The Cork centre processes reservations for its chain of Sheraton Hotels worldwide.
US company Red Hat Software is to create another 27 new jobs in a software centre which is to be established in the city. Ms Harney said the arrival of GTS in Cork was further proof of the city's ability to attract high quality overseas business to the region with IDA Ireland support.
"The focus of IDA now is to have top names in skill-based international services companies locate in the regions and the last two years has seen real delivery of international names in a range of quality projects to Cork - names such as Siemens, American Bankers Insurance Group, Datastream, Pilz, Rand, Citco, Com 21 and Avery Dennison. The decision by GTS to locate here is further endorsement of this strategy," she added.
The expansion by Starwood would enhance the significance of this Irish operation within the group's international structure, Ms Harney said, while the Red Hat Software services centre, which is to be located at the Marina Commercial Park in Cork, will act as the European headquarters for the company.
The Tanaiste, who made the announcement during a visit to the city, also toured the site of the Kostal plant at Mallow, Co Cork, where electronics components for automotive products will be manufactured. Kostal is investing £40 million in a greenfield, state-of-the-art facility which will employ 850 people at full production. The first phase of the new plant will be completed by May of next year.
