US financial services group State Street is to establish a new global cybersecurity and technology unit in Kilkenny, which will see the creation of 400 new jobs.
The fund manager, which already employs 2,000 staff in Dublin, Drogheda, Naas and Kilkenny, said Ireland was chosen as the location for the new unit "due to the availability of relevant and skilled technology talent - existing and emerging - from universities and third level institutions, as well as the need to have a location outside the US for time zone support purposes."
It will be located at IDA Business and Technology Park in Kilkenny where State Street already employs about 600 staff and where the firm is in the process of developing a new office.
“Reflective of new ways of working post Covid and of staff preferences for flexibility and remote working, the new office will accommodate above average occupancy levels enabling it to draw on a broad staff pool along the east coast and midlands,” the company said.
It said the new unit will employ up to 400 high value, experienced and graduate level roles, across a variey of programming, cybersecurity and data science areas. The roles will be filled on a phased basis over the next two years.
"We are very pleased that Ireland and Kilkenny will benefit from this very substantial investment and the addition of high value, sustainable jobs," Tadhg Young, State Street's head of Ireland, said.
“ Today’s jobs announcement, alongside plans for our new state-of-the-art office development in Kilkenny, marks a further strengthening of our presence and commitment to the region for years to come,” he said.
"Ireland's tech ecosystem and financial services credentials alongside Kilkenny's central location and access to talent from third level institutions in Dublin, Carlow, Waterford and beyond were all compelling factors in our location decision," he said.
Welcoming the news, Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment said: "This is a fantastic boost for Kilkenny. State Street, which already employs 600 in its Loughboy office and approximately 2,000 across the country has chosen to locate a new cybersecurity and technology unit in the county, creating up to 400 new jobs over the next two years."
“ Ireland’s highly skilled and experienced workforce continues to attract the very best investment across the country,” he said.
In Ireland, State Street is the largest provider of fund administration and custody services with $1.7 trillion in assets serviced across all asset classes.
