Microsoft's Irish operations contributed €4.9bn to economy this year

The US tech giant is celebrating 40 years since it first invested into Ireland

James O’Connor, Microsoft Ireland site leader and vice-president of Microsoft Global Operations Service Centre.

Between direct investment, the related economic impacts, and employment, Microsoft's Irish operations have contributed €4.9bn in total economic output in the last year, a new report has found, as the company celebrates 40 years in Ireland.

The report, commissioned by Microsoft and written by consultant group Indecon, found the tech giant has spent €28.9bn in Ireland in the period 2014 to 2025 — of which €3.6bn was spent in the last year — which resulted in a €40.1bn impact on economic output.

These figures do not include the taxes the company pays here.

Of that total expenditure, €4.5bn was spent on direct wages and salaries, of which €760m was spent in the last year.

The report comes as the company celebrates its 40th year operating in Ireland. It first invested in Ireland in September 1985 to serve as its base to serve European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regional markets.

At that time, the company had a small manufacturing operation of fewer than 100 people. By 2014, its number of employees was 1,113. 

By this year, that number has grown to 6,463 aided by its acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016, and the acquisition of games company Activision Blizzard King in 2023.

The report also suggests Microsoft’s operations in Ireland, between direct and indirect employment, as well as capital expenditure, has supported just over 20,000 jobs across the country.

Over this period 2014-2025, Microsoft has invested more than €1.7bn in research and development (R&D) in Ireland.

“Indecon estimates indicate that Microsoft’s R&D expenditure in Ireland has accounted for around €1 in every €22 spent by foreign firms in Ireland on R&D   in recent years, making it one of the largest investors in R&D activity in the State,” the report said.

The company said Microsoft Ireland Research plays an important role in the developing and advancing its portfolio of products and services — including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Copilot Studio, and the Xbox gaming franchise.

Microsoft said over the past decade, it has provided €137m in philanthropy grants and €120m in donations to charitable causes, while employees have contributed more than 940,000 volunteer hours to community initiatives.

To mark its 40th year in Ireland, the company also committed to spending an additional €4m on AI skilling initiatives in Ireland.

The company said this funding would provide people the opportunity to develop their AI fluency and digital skills, benefiting communities and businesses across the country.

“This investment will also support the expansion of AI learning opportunities for young people through Microsoft Dream Space, which has already engaged over 500,000 students since 2018,” the company said.

Microsoft Ireland site leader James O’Connor said the company’s focus was “on ensuring that the benefits of technology and AI are accessible to all, helping Ireland continue to thrive as a leader in the digital era”.

“By investing an additional €4m in AI-skilling and through the development of a third Dream Space hub at our data centre campus in Grange Castle, we will continue to deliver on our mission of providing every person across the island with the skills to thrive in the era of AI,” he said.