Google is reportedly planning a 500-job expansion of its Dublin operations, where it already employs 1,500 people and may be planning to exit its Barrow Street offices for more spacious accommodation at Grand Canal Plaza and East Point.
Google is understood to be close to signing leases for two buildings of around 40,000 sq feet in size, one at Grand Canal Plaza, which is near its present Barrow Street offices, and another across the bay at East Point.
In October, Google CEO Eric Schmidt told Siliconrepublic that the majority of the company’s advertising revenues flow through the Irish operations and that Dublin’s docklands district, where Google’s EMEA headquarters are based, is the logical place for that investment. “It’s an absolute fact,” he added.
Schmidt did not elaborate on how much money will be spent on the Dublin expansion, nor did he outline how many new jobs will be created, but said future investments will be made in expanding the company’s enterprise products base and driving its Chrome browser into the enterprise world.
Irish workforce motivates Google CEO
Schmidt said that during his time with Sun Microsystems he had a good working relationship with IDA Ireland and said his main motivation to invest as CEO of Google is the Irish workforce.
According to a report in yesterday’s Sunday Tribune, Google has US$100m available to purchase or lease up to 200,000 sq feet of office space. The company has been looking to exit the Barrow Street building developed by Liam Carroll.
The 500 jobs are more than had originally been estimated.
However, the company is in more favour of renting property than buying, preferring to put the US$100m into other forms of expansion, the report said.
