Richard Bruton, minister for jobs, enterprise and innovation, today announced that Hittite Microwave Corporation , a US semiconductor company, is to establish two operations in Cork; 19 new jobs will be created in Research and Development (R&D) activities while 11 people will be employed at the company’s new International Operations Centre. The investments are supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
While any number of new jobs are welcome, the spacing out of ministerial announcements of low level numbers of new jobs when multiples of the level may have been lost this week, should highlight how grim job prospects are for the 309,000 that are officially unemployed.
Hittite Microwave Corporation is a technology company which designs and manufactures high frequency, analog and mixed signal electronics components. The company maintains a high level of R&D investment to develop state of the art circuit design techniques. The R&D operation being established in Cork will expand Hittite Microwave’s global workforce. The products that will be designed at the Cork facility will be high performance components for use in telecommunications and sensor systems across a variety of applications.
Hittite will create 11 new jobs as part of the establishment of an International Operations Centre also in Cork. This international hub will manage non-US business in closer proximity to its customers to enhance local market presence. As part of the International Operations Centre a global supply chain and finance team will also be located in Cork.
Commenting on the announcement Jason Lynch, managing director of the new Cork operation, ‘’These two investments are very exciting developments for Hittite Microwave. The choice of Cork as the location for R&D activities is due to a combination of the availability of world-class engineers to contribute to the execution of the company’s global R&D strategy and the proximity to the semiconductor and integrated circuit design capabilities in Tyndall Institute, University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, the new international operations centre will bring us closer to our customers and will have responsibility for growing our international business. The operation will be the point of all sales to non-US customers of existing and future Hittite Microwave products. I wish to thank the Irish Government and IDA Ireland for their continued support and look forward to our further development in Ireland.’’
Welcoming the announcement, Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland said, ‘’On behalf of IDA Ireland, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Hittite Microwave to Ireland. In keeping with IDA Ireland’s strategy to secure continued investment in R&D, Hittite Microwave will further add to Ireland’s reputation as an R&D hub."
From www.finfacts.ie