Online takeaway delivery company Just Eat is to create 160 jobs in Ireland and open a new headquarters in what the company described as a "substantial expansion" of its operations here.
Just Eat is adding 20,000sq ft (1858sq m) to its office space in Ireland, opening a new 25,000sq ft (2322sq m) office at the 35 Shelbourne Road building in February next year. The new office will give the company room to grow further in the future.
The move comes following a bumper year for the company, with a pandemic-fuelled boom driving profits and revenues sharply higher in 2020. The company said it was continuing to see strong growth in demand for its services, with numbers of both customers and restaurant partners increasing. The reopening of hospitality across Ireland had not negatively impacted growth, it said.
“A continued increase in demand for our services has justified this investment and we are very excited about what the future holds for us here,” said Amanda Roche-Kelly, managing director at Just Eat Ireland.
Just Eat said it would be recruiting for roles in customer service, sales, office management and facilities, with the majority of the roles based at the company’s new Dublin offices.
“With the welcome reopening of the hospitality sector, many of the independent restaurants that offered delivery for the first time in the past year have continued to maintain that as a key part of their business over the past number of months and intend to maintain it for the long-term. In addition, those that always offered a delivery service have responded to evolving consumer choices and the increased demand by broadening the choices available and hours of opening.”
Customer services
Part of the expansion will include a significant investment in customer services, with one floor of the new Dublin headquarters given over to its customer services’ operations. The other floor will house operations, marketing, administration and the Just Eat Ireland management team.
Just Eat is also recruiting couriers across the State over the coming weeks, with an active campaign underway in Kildare and Athlone.
The announcement was welcomed by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar. "These 160 new jobs will be primarily based in the company's HQ in Dublin, to support the many restaurants right across the country who use the service," he said.
“I know how much many people relied on takeaway services during the pandemic and the fantastic work many delivery drivers and riders did during that time. It’s encouraging to see the sector continuing to thrive and grow and I wish the company the best with this new investment.”
In the Republic, Just Eat has more than 3,300 takeaway restaurants online and its app has been downloaded more than 2.7 million times since it launched locally in May 2008.
Parent JustEatTakeaway.com is Europe’s largest food-delivery group with revenues of €2.6 billion for the first half of 2021, up 51 per cent on the prior year. The company, which has 98 million active consumers, acquired US-based GrubHub in a $7.3 billion deal last year.
