By Sean Lehane
EBay has announced the creation of 450 new jobs in Dundalk, County Louth.
Last year a subsidiary of eBay, PayPal, announced the creation of 1,000 jobs at its Dundalk base. EBay and PayPal currently employ over 2,300 at their facilities in Blanchardstown, Dublin and in Dundalk. The new jobs at Dundalk will be attached to the U.S. online auction giant's customer services team.
"Ireland is a center of excellence for our global customer experience function and the country provides a highly-skilled workforce for eBay with the required technical and language skills, an attractive research environment and proven track record on delivery," said eBay's Gary Hagel.
Meanwhile, Facebook has announced that it is expanding its operation in Dublin.
The company said it will create 100 jobs at its headquarters in the capital, bringing the number employed there to 500.
Facebook Ireland's Gareth Lambe said: "These jobs, which reflect growth in markets across Europe but also the Middle East and Africa, mean we will not only be recruiting from the local economy but supporting local businesses by increasing our footprint.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, RIchard Bruton said: "ICT is a key sector targeted in the government's Action Plan for Jobs. We are determined to build on the major successes in this sector in recent years, in particular by supporting the further development of the thriving cluster around Dublin's docklands.
"Today's announcement of a significant expansion by one of the biggest companies on the internet, with the creation of 100 high-end jobs, is a major endorsement of the tech environment in Dublin and further confirmation of our city's status as the internet capital of Europe," Bruton added.
