By Business & Finance 
Pictured: Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco.
The San Jose-headquartered tech giant remains committed to increasing its Irish headcount, even in the wake of global layoffs.
Nasdaq-listed tech giant Cisco established in Ireland in 1999 and employs 300 staff between Dublin and Galway. It was announced in June that it will create 100 new jobs in Ireland, as part of a project that will support the Government’s 2040 plan for social economic and cultural development.
Some of the new roles will go to each of its location, with the Dublin hires in partnership with B2B sales and marketing company N3. In the cloud collaboration R&D operation in Galway, the 30 new software development roles will be in the areas of voice, video and chat collaboration.
Digital acceleration
Cisco’s global chairman and chief executive, Chuck Robbins said the launch of the Country Digital Acceleration programme for Ireland was a “commitment to helping support the nation’s ecosystem of talent, entrepreneurship and innovation, which are key to creating an inclusive digital Ireland.”
Cisco plans to focus on digital acceleration in Ireland, in particular infrastructure, industry and digital skills. Cisco will work with government and industry to launch an initiative to provide free access to digital skills training, as well as supporting innovation in manufacturing and addressing cybersecurity issues.
Mr Robbins added:
Ireland is at a pivotal point, with nearly one million additional people anticipated to be living and working in the country by 2040. Technology has the power to help the nation accelerate its digital future and advance its social, economic and cultural development.”
Commitment to Ireland
In 2012 the company announced a €26m investment into its Galway operation, which created 115 jobs in research and development. The Irish operations have kept staff numbers up despite Cisco going through global layoffs of around 14,000 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, over the last couple of years as it pivoted towards a more software-centric organisation, focusing on cloud capabilities.
Mr Robbins spoke highly of the quality of the talent and the culture in Ireland, saying,
We have a great set of employees here. We view Ireland as a country that we should, could and will continue to invest in because of the talent here, and the culture here creates an environment where the morale makes it a great place to work.”
