LinkedIn may employ 600 more staff at new Dublin HQ

Professional networking giant LinkedIn is to construct a new international headquarters in Dublin, after acquiring a 17,507sq m site at Wilton Place.

LinkedIn said the site had the capacity to see the company’s Irish workforce double from 600 to 1,200.

Construction on the new headquarters will begin in May 2015 with building expected to be completed at the beginning of 2017. Sources close to the company said the investment, including the cost of building, would amount to €90 million.

LinkedIn has been in Dublin since March 2010, and employs 600. The company bases a variety of functions including sales, marketing, analytics and operations at its offices in Wilton Place, with employees looking after all regions outside the US and Canada.

Long-term commitment

Senior director Sharon McCooey said the company was making a “long-term commitment to Ireland” with the acquisition of the site and construction of a six-storey international headquarters.

She said Ireland was one of LinkedIn’s top markets when it came to membership, with 1.2 million users. “For that reason we are extremely pleased to be announcing a further investment in Ireland and an expansion of our operational presence here.

“Dublin is now home to a very vibrant digital technology sector and with that comes an important ecosystem for companies like ours as well as the strong pool of talented digital professionals that we need access to in order to further grow our operations in the future.”

Vast scale

With more than 313 million members worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company, LinkedIn is the largest professional network on the internet.

In Ireland, the three most prominent employers appearing on members' profiles are the Health Service Executive, AIB and Bank of Ireland.

The biggest sector represented in terms of employment in Ireland is the hi-tech industry, followed by construction and the financial services sector. More Irish LinkedIn members were educated in University College Dublin than any other university.

The IDA, which assisted LinkedIn with the property acquisition, said the investment “speaks volumes” about the talented workforce in Ireland. IDA chief executive Martin Shanahan said this was one of the key factors in LinkedIn’s decision to make a long-term commitment here.