Is Facebook plotting a 1,000-job expansion in Dublin’s northside?

22 Feb 2017

Is Facebook coming to the northside? Image: ABD/Shutterstock

If the rumours are true, social network giant Facebook has epic growth plans for Dublin.

Facebook is understood to be close to signing a lease for a building in Dublin that will house 1,000 new workers.

According to reports, the company will acquire a new premises near the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Facebook currently employs more than 1,500 people at its international headquarters at Silicon Docks.

Friends with Dublin

The expansion will see the social network locate 1,000 additional workers north of the Liffey, adding to the growing cluster of digital enterprises already in this region, including Yahoo, Dogpatch Labs and Cisco.

According to Bloomberg, the building is owned by the Comer brothers.

It is a 110,000 sq ft building located between East Point Business Park and The Point Village.

Facebook first came to Dublin in 2008 with plans to create around 80 jobs. However, the rapid growth employment in the city saw it mushroom to its current staff of 1,500 people.

A year ago, the social network announced 200 new jobs, saying it had room at its present building for 2,000 people.

As part of this expansion, the company opened a partner centre, the first of its kind outside the global headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

Last year, Facebook also broke ground on its new €200m data centre in Clonee, Co Meath – a first for Ireland and its second one in Europe.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com