SOME 150 jobs are to be created in Blanchardstown, Dublin, following the decision by PayPal to expand its Irish operations, while a further 50 positions are to be established in Athlone by American Medical Systems Holdings.
The positions to be created by PayPal will be in customer service and merchant services, and will require candidates to be fluent in English and a second European language.
The online payments company already employs more than 1,200 people at its European headquarters in Blanchardstown. The centre provides operational and customer support to PayPal’s businesses across Europe.
This is the fourth time PayPal has announced an expansion in Dublin in the last two years, according to Louise Phelan, senior director for global customer services and EU merchant services at PayPal’s European operations.
The company, which allows customers to send money without sharing financial information, opened in Dublin in 2003. Over the last eight years, staff numbers have increased from 25 to more than 1,200. In 2009 the company secured a €15 million IDA investment to open its European centre of excellence in Blanchardstown.
PayPal, which is owned by eBay, has 94 million active accounts in 190 markets worldwide.
ICT Ireland, the Ibec group that represents the high-tech sector, welcomed the announcement.
Meanwhile medical devices firm American Medical Systems said yesterday it would create 50 new jobs in a €4.6 million expansion in Athlone, Co Westmeath. The firm supplies devices to treat urological and pelvic conditions.
“This is the first manufacturing operation AMS has established outside of the United States, and it is of significant strategic importance as the company grows its international presence,” said Thomas Rasmussen, vice-president of global operations and supply chain. “The decision to locate in Athlone was strongly based on the cluster of leading life sciences companies located here, and the opportunity to partner with such companies in the processes carried out by AMS.”
