Verizon Communications Inc. (Verizon) has announced the establishment of a Global Centre of Excellence in Limerick.

The centre will be based at the 1BQ building that is currently being constructed on the city's riverfront. Verizon has retained 10,000m2 of the building which is designed to achieve LEED GOLD standard, and a Wiredscore Platinum certification. Developers Kirkland Investments anticipate 1BQ will be ready to welcome Verizon in Q1 next year.

The new centre will create hundreds of jobs over the next two years with and has full support of the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Since 2006, Verizon currently employs 1,000 highly skilled professionals in Dublin.

Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Simon Coveney said: "We should never take for granted an announcement like this one. One of the world’s leading providers of technology and communications services has chosen Limerick for their new Global Centre of Excellence. More than 400 jobs will be generated from this announcement. This is a significant commitment and endorsement of Ireland, and in particular, the skilled workforce in Limerick. I want to thank Verizon for their continued investment in Ireland."

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Craig Silliman, President, Verizon Global Services said: "This Centre of Excellence will bring together key functions in a creative, collaborative environment that leverages global talent and maximizes our shared services model to best deliver for our businesses globally.

"As we continue to leverage our global footprint to best serve our customers, grouping these functions in a world-class centre will improve effectiveness and efficiency to deliver best-in-class results for our customers, employees, and partners."

CEO of IDA Ireland Michael Lohan said: "Verizon's decision to expand its presence here demonstrates its confidence in Ireland. The selection of Limerick City for this Centre of Excellence and the creation of roles across multiple strategic global functions, including, Strategy & Transformation, Finops and Network Engineering & Cyber will position the Mid West and Ireland well for future investment in the sector. I’d like to wish Verizon every success with this expansion and assure the leadership team of IDA Ireland’s continued support."

Photograph: Maxwells