Mayo is to get up to 400 new jobs in two projects to be announced today. The majority will be in US multinational Baxter Healthcare, which is to recruit almost 300 staff in a £20 million-plus (€25.4 million) expansion of its operations in Castlebar. Around 100 jobs will also be announced in a new call centre to be set up by a British group, also in Castlebar.

The Baxter project will bring to almost 1,300 the number of people the group employs in Ireland. The Mayo plant is the group's headquarters in Ireland and manufactures kidney dialysis fluids. The company also has offices in Dublin and Belfast.

The projects will be announced today by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney. The British group is involved in software services and is expected to start recruitment immediately.

Baxter Healthcare has been in Ireland for more than 25 years. At one stage, the Irish plant very nearly closed. It received a year's "lifeline" and reversed its fortunes.

At present, the company employs around 950 people in Ireland, of whom more than 600 are working in Castlebar. It also employs more than 100 people at a plant in Swinford, Co Mayo.

Recruitment of new staff will start immediately, rising to 300 over the next three years.

Baxter is a world leader in healthcare. The company provides more than 120,000 products, systems and services in 33 countries worldwide. A member of the Fortune 500 list of large American corporations, Baxter sales in 1997 exceeded $6.1 billion (€5.8 billion), with profits of approximately $700 million. The company has more than 175 facilities and employs approximately 41,000 people worldwide.

The project marks the latest in a number of job announcements over the last 18 months in Mayo.