Hewlett Packard to create 110 new jobs in Kildare

More than 100 jobs are to be created in Co Kildare before the end of the year, it was announced today.

Hewlett-Packard Financial Services is to expand its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Leixlip with 110 high-value financial services jobs for graduates with financial, marketing, multilingual and customer relationship skills.

An educated and skilled professional workforce was among the key factors which influenced the expansion, revealed by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin and supported by IDA Ireland.

“This investment is very significant as it further demonstrates the opportunities available for one of the world’s leading companies to develop their existing Irish operations across all areas of business activity,” said Mr Martin.

“The decision to centralise additional responsibilities at the Leixlip headquarters will further enhance the strategic role of the Irish operation in the HP Financial Services business.”

Hewlett-Packard International Bank plc is one of the largest IFSC banks in Ireland with an after-tax profit of €50m in 2005 and employs more than 4,000 people in Ireland in manufacturing, software-development, R&D, sales and marketing.

HP Financial Services currently employs 250 people in Leixlip.

Paul Sheeran, Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard International Bank plc, said: “The experience of Hewlett-Packard in Ireland, where we employ more than 4,000 people, gives us first-hand knowledge of the quality of the people here, and that was certainly a key factor.

"Other factors included the strong support from IDA Ireland, the highly respected regulatory environment and Ireland’s excellent reputation as a base for financial services companies.

“Centralising our operations will allow HP Financial Services to maximise the use of our banking licence here in Ireland, which enables us to penetrate the European market very effectively while also introducing significant economies of scale.

"The outlook for this business is very positive and we expect this investment to yield significant growth in financing volumes going forward.”