Apple breaks the 2,000 jobs mark
The new roles will follow the 500 or so new staff hired in the past six months, most of whom have been in production and sales roles.
Industry sources believe the bulk of the next 300 new roles will be in production of the Mac Pro, the company’s high-end desktop computer targeted at professional users.
The imminent international release of the iPad, which has been hugely successful in the United States, will also lead to more sales staff being taken on here in Ireland. Apple does not manufacture the iPad here.
The latest in a series of hugely successful new products from the company, the iPad’s international release was delayed until the end of May due to unprecedented demand in the US. Sales for the iPad recently surpassed the million mark and a 3G version is now available.
Apple in Cork is also hiring engineers who will work on technology support for its plants in the Far East.
This recruitment drive places Apple among the larger employers in Munster. It also makes it one of the largest ICT employers in Ireland. Intel employs 5,300 here, Hewlett Packard is at around 4,000, Google has some 1,500 staff here, while Microsoft employs about 1,200 staff in Dublin.
Apple’s latest recruitment drive is taking place with the minimum of fuss and almost no media exposure.
A spokesperson for Apple Media said: “We never discuss staffing or people at Apple, that’s just the way it is.” However, it is understood many of the new roles in Cork are on a contract basis, which would allow for easy restructuring in line with any fluctuation in market demand for the Mac Pro, iPad, iPhone and other new products. Apple’s US-based senior executives have also intimated that it has other products tabled for imminent release.
In projecting the company’s likely Q2 2010 performance recently, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said: “We have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”
The Hollyhill facility is large enough to house upwards of 2,500 staff. Apple first came to Ireland in 1981, with the backing of the IDA. The facility’s manufacturing lines have evolved to produce most of Apple’s most familiar products. The company let go around 450 staff in 1999, when it moved its iMac production to Wales.
The company is headed up in Ireland by Cathy Kearney, Apple’s senior director of European operations. She was not available for comment.
