McAfee vows to add more jobs after unveiling 120 at opening of EMEA hub

SECURITY technology specialist McAfee plans to add 150 jobs in the coming years to the 120 jobs unveiled at the opening of its new EMEA headquarters in Mahon, Cork.

Formally opened yesterday by Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe, the company now has 280 staff in Cork. McAfee’s senior executives hinted that there’s more good news on the horizon for the facility, which was custom-built with a capacity for 450 staff.

Visiting California-based McAfee chief executive Dave DeWalt said: “We still have 150 spaces left and we look forward to filling those. We are looking for big things from the mid-market globally, a sector for which we have many more new products planned.

“We will shortly be moving MX Logic to Cork. Mahon is the only facility that has every business function as at our US headquarters. The business is growing and Cork is likely to grow disproportionately. As we grow, Cork will grow; probably even more so.”

Cork is to roll out the cloud-based email and web security services MX Logic, McAfee’s newly acquired subsidiary in Colorado. Cork is also earmarked to deliver a suite of as yet unveiled new products to world markets.

Cork-based McAfee EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Asia) president, David Quantrell, said: “We announced the 100 jobs in September. We are ahead of the project. We have already hired 120 people since the announcement.

“In Cork, we have facilities processing and ordering skills from front to back. The local universities have developed their skills in security technology and cybercrime, with links across the EU.

“We have also found that the near shore model works very well for us, basing operations here rather than in the US. We are working on a number of new projects and new products for the EMEA market.”

Meanwhile, 150 jobs are being created at the Dublin base of pharma giant Merck & Co Inc. The company employs 2,300 people directly in Ireland and provides an additional 9,000 indirect jobs through its operations at sites in Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Tipperary and Wicklow.

In the last four decades the company has invested more than €2.2 billion in Ireland.