Major boost for Cork welcomed following announcement of €124m AMD investment in Ireland
The news was welcomed by Cork Chamber of Commerce.
Cork is in store for a major jobs boost as microchip technology firm AMD has announced a $135m (€124m) investment in Ireland, creating 290 highly skilled engineering and research positions.
Little Island in Cork and Citywest in Dublin will benefit from AMD’s investment in computing research, development, and engineering operations.
The new jobs are in research and design (R&D) projects for next generation artificial intelligence, a data centre, networking, and 6G communications infrastructure.
The development was formally announced in Dublin on Wednesday by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD, and Ruth Cotter, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Human Resources at AMD.
The new investment is supported by the Irish government through IDA Ireland.
"I warmly welcome the ambitious plans of AMD to expand their advanced R&D and engineering operations in Ireland,” said Mr Coveney. “This significant investment will not only bolster our thriving technology sector but also create long-term career opportunities for both highly experienced professionals and new graduates from engineering disciplines.
"The company plans to add up to 290 new positions and its funding of strategically important R&D projects demonstrates its confidence in Ireland's supportive enterprise environment and infrastructure. The Irish government, through IDA Ireland, is delighted to support this expansion, further solidifying our commitment to nurturing a vibrant ecosystem for research, development, and engineering,” added Mr Coveney.
The news was welcomed by Cork Chamber of Commerce.
“This announcement by AMD of a $135m investment is very significant and demonstrates the company’s commitment to Ireland as a strategic location for R&D, innovation and engineering,” said Conor Healy, CEO of Cork Chamber.
“The investment and associated creation of 290 jobs across the Little Island, Cork and Dublin sites will strengthen our vibrant technology sector and will also impact positively on the broader ecosystem in the Cork region.
“The recent and ongoing upgrades to the Dunkettle Interchange, the associated new cycle routes, and improved access to Little Island are all very positive, as is the increased 15-minute frequency of the suburban rail line.
“While these all give greater choice in transport modes, the next step in delivering on the electrification of the suburban rail line is essential to moving towards a more sustainable future for Cork. Continued delivery of housing is also a priority to enable continued economic growth,” added Mr Healy.
AMD’s Ruth Cotter said: “From the cloud and PCs to communications and intelligent end points, AMD’s high-performance and adaptive computing solutions play an increasingly larger role in shaping the future of computing today. For nearly three decades, Ireland has been a flagship European R&D centre developing adaptive computing solutions, drawing from a strong and highly-skilled workforce.
"Through this investment, our R&D teams in Ireland will design innovative high-performance and adaptive computing engines to accelerate data centre, networking, 6G communications and embedded solutions while taking a leadership position on artificial intelligence,” added Ms Cotter.
Prior to the acquisition of Xilinx by AMD in 2022, Xilinx partnered with IDA Ireland on a number of occasions to advance semiconductor innovation in Ireland.
Most recently, in 2017, Xilinx announced a $40m investment to expand its research, development and engineering operations, as well as to recruit over 100 new skilled employees.
“This investment will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible while contributing further to Ireland's position as a global technology leader,” said Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland. “This expansion further strengthens the company’s presence in Ireland as a leading centre of semiconductor innovation and puts Ireland at the heart of AMD’s European research and engineering operations.
"IDA Ireland has been proud to support AMD and previously Xilinx for nearly three decades and is committed to supporting investments of scale that impact positively on Europe’s semiconductor industry,” added Mrs Lohan.
The Irish site was first established in 1994 as the first purpose-built Xilinx site outside of the US and began its operations a year later with a focus on manufacturing, operations support, engineering and administration services.
Since the acquisition of Xilinx, Ireland is now home to one of the largest AMD R&D sites in Europe with a strong record of delivering products with significant commercial success.
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