Photo by Marco Paköeningrat via Flickr
A digest of the top business technology news stories from the past week, beginning with the news social networking giant Facebook is to double its Dublin office size to accommodate more staff.
Facebook to double Dublin office size to accommodate more staff
Once again, social networking giant Facebook is to double the size of its base in the Dublin Docklands area with an adjoining office, to take its total space up to 250,000 sq feet.
Having agreed to rent its current office on 4 Grand Canal Square back in 2011, Facebook has now agreed to rent block five, which is similar in size to No 4 with an office space floor plan of 125,798 sq feet, according to The Irish Times.
The reason for Facebook wanting to expand the Dublin office is believed to be a serious hiring campaign.
West Pharmaceuticals to open Waterford plant with future 150 jobs
West Pharmaceuticals, one of Ireland’s largest drug administration companies, plans to expand its global manufacturing operations with the construction of a new plant in Waterford that is to result in 150 future jobs.
The new facility is expected to produce packaging components for insulin injector cartridges and other high value packaging components, in order to meet growing demand from pharmaceutical and biotech customers.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2015 on the 44-acre site at Knockhouse on Old Kilmeaden Road in Waterford.
Insight Centre for Data Analytics names new CEO
Oliver Daniels will be taking up the role of CEO of the Insight Centre for Data Analytics at Insight NUI Galway, replacing Prof Barry Smyth as of 21 October.
Smyth served as CEO since the centre’s inception in July 2013.
Daniels will lead the €75m Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) research centre as it strives to position Ireland at the heart of global data analytics research.
Herb Hribar steps down as Eircom CEO
Eircom CEO Herb Hribar has decided not to renew his contract and has stepped down as CEO of the telecommunications company with immediate effect.
Hribar announced his decision to the board who appointed chief financial officer Richard Moat as acting CEO while the search for a new permanent Eircom Group CEO begins.
Hribar became CEO of Eircom Group in September 2012, the same time Moat was made the group’s CFO.
eBay Inc to split PayPal into separate entity in 2015
eBay Inc will no longer run PayPal as a part of its company in 2015, but will adopt a policy where it will be spun off to form its own operation with new separate board control.
Expected in the second half of next year, eBay Inc is to split off the e-payments company following pressure from hedge-fund magnate Carl Icahn, according to The New York Times.
It is understood that Icahn essentially demanded the move to please eBay Inc’s shareholders, as well as to remove any potential conflicts of interest with themselves and PayPal’s own business model.
eBay acquired PayPal 12 years ago.
Angry Birds maker Rovio to slash 130 jobs
Finnish mobile games maker Rovio is to cut up to 130 jobs in Finland, or 16pc of its workforce, as it aims to simplify the company around games, media and consumer products.
Rovio, the maker of the popular Angry Birds franchise, deemed the three areas as having the “highest growth potential”.
Chief executive Mikael Hed said Rovio had been building its team on assumptions of faster growth than has materialised.
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