Limerick gets turned ON by new jobs

14-07-2008

by Deirdre McArdle

In a good day for the Shannon area, the Tanaiste has announced the creation of 49 high tech jobs by ON Semiconductor in Limerick.

The firm, which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is to create a research and development (R&D) centre at Raheen Business Park in Limerick. The new centre will be staffed by 49 highly skilled semiconductor designers and engineers. Twenty-eight of these employees are already in place and recruitment is underway for the remaining 21 high-calibre positions.

ON Semiconductor designs and manufactures power and data management chips, and standard semiconductor components, worldwide. The new R&D centre in Limerick will become a Centre of Expertise in digital power management and thermal management for next generation processors. Employees based there will develop controller and driver integrated circuits for next generation processors in servers, gaming consoles, desktop and laptop computers.

Tanaiste Mary Coughlan attended the official opening of the R&D centre on Monday and welcomed the jobs. "The choice of Limerick for this investment is a major endorsement of Ireland's ability to successfully implement such technologically advanced R&D projects, and to meet the company's recruitment needs for high calibre R&D semiconductor designers and engineers," she said.

"It is also an important vote of confidence in the existing Limerick group, particularly as it was won against strong competition for the project from other ON Semiconductor sites worldwide. This investment is a further important development for the growing cluster of IC Design companies in the mid-west region."

The news follows a jobs announcement earlier on Monday from Mentor Graphics, which is to create 35 new jobs in the Shannon Free Zone, as part of an expansion plan.

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