US medical giant Abbott Laboratories has announced plans to create 1,000 jobs in Donegal and Kilkenny as part of a €440m investment.
The company is set to expand manufacturing services in Donegal and build a major new manufacturing plant in Kilkenny.
The Abbott Diabetes Care facility in Donegal Town is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the company’s FreeStyle brand of blood glucose test strips.
Abbott currently employs over 5,000 people across nine sites in Ireland, with the additional 1,000 roles to be announced today. Recruitment will start immediately.
The roles will centre on the creation of the company’s Freestyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring systems, which it says are now used by more than four million people living with diabetes across more than 60 countries.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “This new investment by Abbott in Donegal and Kilkenny is hugely welcome news, bringing up to 1,000 highly-skilled jobs and expanded Medtech manufacturing capacity.
“Abbott has a long and successful history, first establishing operations in Ireland in 1946, and this new investment is a great vote of confidence in the workforce here, and in this country as a place to invest. I wish all the team at Abbott every continued success in its endeavours in the years to come.”
The project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.
Established in 2006, Abbott’s diabetes business in Ireland has has rapid growth in demand for diabetes care due to the increased incidence and detection of diabetes worldwide.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar said “This is really fantastic news from Abbott. It’s a real vote of confidence in Kilkenny and Donegal and what those counties have to offer. We are working hard every day to create job opportunities in every county in the country, investing in every region to create a welcoming environment for the kind of opportunities we are seeing here today. It’s a major priority of mine as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These 1,000 new jobs are a huge boost and really speak to the strength of Abbott’s 5,000 existing staff here. We never take this investment for granted. Thank you to the Abbott team.”
IDA Ireland Executive Director Mary Buckley said “Abbott has had a longstanding presence in Ireland spanning over 75 years during which the company has made a substantial and valued contribution to regional economies. This significant and transformative investment in a new greenfield manufacturing facility in Kilkenny is fantastic news for the South East Region and for Ireland. It is also most welcome and demonstrates continued commitment to its Donegal site that it will benefit from further investment and new jobs as part of this investment and jobs announcement. IDA Ireland’s strategy to win investment for regional locations across Ireland includes encouraging and supporting established companies to develop additional regional sites and this is a prime example of that. This new manufacturing facility will deliver a substantial boost to the economy of the South East. I wish the company continued success.”
