Netgear HQ brings 100 jobs to Cork

A US-owned company is to establish its international headquarters in Cork in a move that will bring 100 jobs to the city.

The announcement that Netgear is to create the jobs at the UCC Technology Park was made yesterday by Minister for Trade and Employment Micheál Martin.

The company, which is a worldwide provider of networking products, currently employs 300 people and is based in Santa Clara, California.

It designs, develops and markets products like routers, print servers and wireless modems for small business and home use.

The company said its Cork operation will be part of a strategy to develop and support international growth.

It will centralise many currently geographically diverse activities into the Irish operation, which will manage a number of international operations.

Already, the company is recruiting for positions in finance, technical and IT support, HR, operations and product marketing.

Minister Martin said the company has strong brand recognition internationally and is an excellent addition to the IT industry cluster in Cork.

“It is the first operation for the company outside of the US ... and we know they will find the required skills and infrastructure necessary in Cork for a knowledge-based business of this kind,” the Minister said.

Patrick Lo, Netgear chief executive, said Cork was an ideal location due to its excellent infrastructure, multilingual capability, highly skilled workforce and ease of doing business.

Cork Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Conor Healy, said the news of the jobs boost was welcome news for the area.