Yahoo invests $12 million in new EMEA headquarters in Dublin

Internet giant Yahoo has invested $12 million (€10.9 million) in new offices in Dublin’s Docklands, giving it the capacity to bring its Irish workforce from 320 to 450.

The 78,000sq ft offices at Point Village were formally opened yesterday by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Yahoo has been in Dublin since 2003, and employs 320 across human resources, finance, ad operations and customer support.

Pat Scully, the managing director of Yahoo EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), said the company was also researching the option of acquiring a data centre in Ireland.

“We have a data centre which we lease in Dublin. We might build or buy our own facility here.”

Mr Kenny said the conditions that led Yahoo to investing further in Ireland were the country’s low corporate tax rate, talent pool and technology capabilities.

US investment

He said US companies reduced their foreign direct investment in Europe by 19 per cent last year but increased FDI in Ireland by 43 per cent.

“We are now referred to as the internet capital of Europe,” he said, adding that Yahoo’s $12 million investment in a new EMEA headquarters signalled its confidence in Ireland.

He added that the company hoped to continue expanding in Ireland.

Yahoo chief financial officer Ken Goldman said the company took "very seriously where it locates and invests".

“We are fundamentally here because of the talent pool here, the stability of the country, the fact that it is part of the EU, and the overall sense of excitement and optimism that exists in the country,” he added.

In 2013, Yahoo announced 200 new jobs for its Dublin operations centre, all of which have now been filled.

Mr Scully said: “We first looked at this building in 2013 when we announced 200 jobs. We knew we were growing fast, and many of those jobs were filled in 90 days.”

The Dublin team provides customer care, technical and operational support, and finance-related services for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region, as well as to some Yahoo customers in the US and other regions.