Fruitful years ahead for Apple in Cork

COMPUTER giants Apple have announced plans to extend their Cork campus and as a result create space for up to 1,000 further jobs by the middle of 2017.

An expansion of this magnitude would see the company’s number of direct employees in Ireland rise to 6,000.

At the moment, Apple employs 5,000 people at it’s Holyhill property in Cork city. This is a 25% increase from last year.

The welcomed news was announced as Apple Cief Executive Officer Tim Cook visited Dublin yesterday morning.

Apple first opened in Cork in 1980 and has steadily built its prescence in Ireland through the years.

Apple’s staff in the Cork facility are involved in a range of functions including manufacturing, customer care, finance and global supply chain management.

Mr Cook was met by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny on Wednesday morning. Following the announcement, the Taoiseach welcomed the plans for Cork, saying: “Apple’s plans for new facilities at their Cork campus that can house a further 1,000 jobs is a welcome boost of confidence in Cork and the South West region.

“It is also a welcome sign of broadening regional recovery. These new jobs come on top of 1,000 additional jobs already created at Apple in the past 12 months, which brought the workforce in Ireland to over 5,000 in 2015.”

Speaking at Trinity College Dublin, Mr Cook said Apple has been in Ireland for 35 years, was proud to be the largest employer in Cork and will always be proud to call Ireland home.

He said the facility here is one of the most diverse on the planet, with their employess coming from dozens of countries across the globe.

He also spoke of the good times and challenging time Apple has experienced but he sees them as rooted in Cork.