Intercom moves over 40 R&D jobs back to Dublin

Irish tech firm recently laid off 39 staff including some in its operation here

Intercom co-founders Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, David Barrett and Ciaran Lee
Intercom co-founders Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, David Barrett and Ciaran Lee

Irish-founded technology company Intercom has relocated more than 40 research and development jobs back to Dublin as part of a cost-cutting plan resulting from the Covid-19 crisis.

The company also confirmed that it recently cut 39 jobs, nearly all of them in San Francisco. A spokeswoman for Intercom said a decision had been taken late last month to move 47 roles back to Dublin. Of these roles, a handful are believed to be in marketing while the majority are in R&D.

The company currently employs more than 600 people, of whom about 250 are in Dublin.

The cost-cutting plan is not expected to impact on the company’s move into new headquarters on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin.

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Intercom, which is currently based in Anglo Irish Bank's former headquarters on St Stephen's Green, late last year signed an 18-year lease for a new 10,500sq m office, close to the National Concert Hall.

The company, which was founded by Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, Ciarán Lee and David Barrett in 2011, has been in expansion mode in recent years. It announced plans to significantly expand the business in early 2018, with a move to double staff numbers to more than 750 people globally.

Founded in Dublin, Intercom achieved so-called “unicorn status” two years ago when its valuation topped $1 billion after raising $125 million in investment.

Overall, the company has raised over $240 million with backers including Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, and Slack chief executive Stewart Butterfield.

Intercom, which claims more than a billion end users, has developed a software platform which brings messaging products for sales, marketing and customer support together. Its products allow companies to communicate with customers easily through their own websites, inside their respective web and mobile apps, and by email.

Clients include Aer Lingus, Scottish Power, Eurotherm, Atlassian, Shopify and New Relic.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist