Fujitsu Consolidates Position With 150 More Jobs

Following last week's high profile US-NI Investment Conference, Northern Ireland's good news continues.

Economy Minister, Nigel Dodds has now announced an £8.8 million investment by Fujitsu Services, creating 150 jobs, in Belfast and Londonderry.

Backed by over £2 million in Government funding, 120 of the jobs will be located in Londonderry with the remaining 30 located in Belfast.

This investment is Fujitsu Services third in the past 18 months, bringing their total employment locally to over 900.

Announcing the investment the Minister said: "I'm pleased that a global brand of Fujitsu's standing has decided to reinvest further in Northern Ireland.

"The company considered several locations for this new centre of excellence but chose Northern Ireland because of the positive impact their existing operation here has on the company's global competitiveness.

"They have attributed their success to our advanced telecommunications infrastructure, the highly qualified workforce, cost competitive location and the support offered by Invest NI."

The Minister continued: "Northern Ireland has developed a reputation as an excellent location for inward investors looking to expand into Europe.

"As a result of this reputation we have attracted a string of blue-chip companies in recent years.

"The success of the recent US-NI Investment Conference highlights the genuine interest overseas investors have in taking advantage of the business opportunities on offer in Northern Ireland," he said.

Mr Dodds noted that Fujitsu is one of the world's largest independent providers of the Oracle eBusiness Suite services and has been experiencing rapid growth.

With over £2.2 million of support from Invest Northern Ireland, the company will establish an Applications Services Centre of Excellence for the company, reinforcing its Northern Ireland operation as a key component of its European network.

The company has a strong focus on staff development and Invest NI's support for the project includes an element of support for training.

The Minister concluded: "This investment, which will contribute £4 million per annum in salaries to the economy, is a major boost for the north-west in particular as 120 of the jobs will be based at Fujitsu’s Londonderry operation at Timber Quay."

(BMcC)