Mastercard will be recruiting another 1,500 staff in Dublin over a period of three to five years. This will be the credit card issuer's biggest recruitment drive in Dublin since it opened its office in Ireland more than a decade ago. The recruitment drive will see software engineers and developers joining multiple departments of the company.
This will take Mastercard's workforce in Dublin to more than 2,000. The development was confirmed by IDA Ireland, the state agency which is in the race to win foreign recruitment. Mastercard already has a sizeable presence in Dublin, where it houses its research and development wing, Mastercard Labs.
Mastercard's big Dublin plans
Dublin is home to Mastercard's technology hub and the global headquarters of Mastercard Labs. The new jobs will be created for software engineers and developers across departments like artificial intelligence, cyber security, blockchain, and user experience testing.
Ed McLaughlin, President of Mastercard Operations and Technology, said, "Our new campus will help us continue to attract the best and brightest tech talent, so that we stay on the forefront of emerging tech trends and are well positioned to forge the future of digital commerce across the globe." Mastercard opened its office in Dublin in 2008 with 36 employees which today have gone up to 650.
The new job additions will treble the company's staff strength in Ireland. The US credit card issuer will take up an additional 22,500 square meters of area in two newly built office blocks near its existing location in Leopardstown in south Dublin, making it Mastercard's Technology Hub for Europe.
Destination Dublin
Mastercard is not the first multinational company to expand its footprint in Ireland. The European market is fast becoming important for tech companies and Ireland has emerged as one of the most preferred locations for them in that continent.
Foreign tech giants employ around 25% of a million people in Ireland, accounting for one in every 10 jobs in the country. Mastercard will also become the largest foreign tech company to come up with a campus-style site in Dublin. Last month, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn announced that it will open a new campus in Dublin and increase its workforce in Ireland to around 4,000 employees.
In 2018, Facebook signed the largest office lease in the Irish capital boasting a 57,000 square metre campus. The same year, Google also signed a 37,000 square metre office space in Dublin.
The reason behind Ireland fast turning into a new technology hub in Europe for tech companies is because of the low tax rates. In Ireland, the corporate tax is as low as 12.5%, which is definitely attractive enough for foreign businesses. According to IDA Ireland, hiring by multinational companies increased 6% in 2019.
