Coca-Cola is to establish a new digital hub in Dublin to help accelerate its digital transformation, creating 40 jobs in its first phase.
The Ballsbridge hub is one of six worldwide, and will create jobs for data engineers, software developers, data analysts and technical experts. Recruitment is already under way.
The team will support leaders and colleagues across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as they seek to improve customer experience and achieve commercial goals through the use of digital insights, business intelligence, analytics and smart digital marketing.
The centre could grow further over the next four to five years.
The company said Dublin was selected as a location for the hub due to its growing international reputation as an innovation city and because of the wealth of technical talent that live in or close to the city.
“Coca-Cola is embarking on an ambitious transformation journey, completely changing the way it operates to support continued growth and innovation,” a spokesperson for the company said. “The recent establishment of a global technology organisation is central to this transformation and we hope will power the company globally to step change its capabilities through scaled world-class digital platforms.”
There are also plans to add another hub to the company’s worldwide network.
“These digital hubs will be have a team of talented technology professionals who will leverage the power of IT to capture quality marketing insights quickly, helping to inform smarter decisions, respond to consumer demands and support commercial goals and objectives by using data and analytic solutions,” Coca-Cola said.
The news was welcomed by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. "It demonstrates the vibrancy and attractiveness of Dublin as a place to invest," he said. "These 40 new jobs are most welcome."
IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said the decision to expand its workforce here was testament to Ireland's highly skilled workforce.
