Amazon is set to create 500 jobs in Dublin over the next two years as it seeks to expand its European workforce.

They will be mainly high tech positions, with the company seeking data centre technicians, software engineers and customer support staff. Dublin acts as Amazon’s technical hub in Europe.

“It’s driven by the fact that the business continues to grow at a really rapid rate. For AWS [Amazon Web Services, which covers cloud computing products] we have over one million customers over 190 countries,” said Amazon Ireland’s general manager Jeff Caselden.

Expansion in 2014

The news follows the company’s expansion in Dublin in 2014, when it announced 300 new jobs and moved to a larger premises to help ensure space for future growth. Mr Caselden said those 2014 roles had been filled ahead of time.

Back then, the company put an investment figure of €1.5 billion on its Irish operation to date.

Although the company is not now providing an updated figure for investment, Mr Caselden said if the businesses continued to grow, it was reasonable to expect there would be further investment in both the workforce and infrastructure in Ireland.

Amazon set up in Ireland in 2004, initially creating jobs for data centre technicians and networking staff. AWS first launched its services in Ireland in 2006.

In addition to its offices in Dublin, the company also has operations in Cork, where its staff mainly do customer support. It employs more than 1,700 people here.

The company said Dublin has also been a location for engineering new technologies to support a number of Amazon’s businesses.

“Looking back at the last 11 years, and how much we’ve grown, we have a huge level of confidence in our ability to attract and retain staff in Ireland,” Mr Caselden said.

“We feel very confident moving forward that continuing to invest in Ireland is good for us.”

Recruitment has already begun for the roles, with include software development engineers, network development engineers, optical deployment engineers, security and big data specialists and a range of technical management positions.

Global recruitment

The announcement was welcomed by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who said it was testament to Ireland’s reputation as a leading European location for technology and digital industries, and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

“Creating so many new jobs, as announced today, and having such a solid presence in both Dublin and Cork, makes this company a key player for us in developing the knowledge-based sector in Ireland,” she said.

“It is admirable to have such a cutting-edge company pushing out the new boundaries and being able to find the talent to do so in Ireland.”

The news was also welcomed by chief executive of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan.