Foreign multinational jobs in Ireland rise slightly as US investment holds up

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, July 1 (Reuters) - Ireland said on Wednesday it secured commitments from foreign multinationals in the first half of 2026 to create 10,400 jobs, up slightly year-on-year, with North American companies still accounting for a large share despite U.S. trade protectionism.

Ireland is hugely reliant on the taxes and jobs of foreign multinationals such as Apple and Microsoft. Foreign-owned firms have almost doubled their Irish workforce in the last decade to make up 11% of the entire labour market.

The decades-old model of attracting jobs from mainly U.S. firms in sectors such as technology and pharmaceuticals has had to weather President Donald Trump's fluctuating tariff policies and pledge to bring more production back to the U.S.

The country's inward investment agency, IDA Ireland, said North American companies' share of the 190 new investments announced in the first half of the year was in line with historical trends at 60% to 65%. This was driven by the high number of U.S. firms already in Ireland and the scale of innovation happening in North America, he said.

The IDA said a strong concentration of investment activity was in next-generation technology projects such as AI.

The agency's CEO Michael Lohan said research and development spending in the sector totalled €1.5 billion in the first half of the year compared to €2.5 billion for the whole of 2025 following improved tax incentives introduced by the government last October.

The agency’s figures count new jobs only and exclude layoffs, which largely offset hiring in 2023 and 2024 when the sector slowed. Net employment growth resumed last year, rising 1.5% year-on-year.

While some large technology companies such as Meta have announced job cuts in their Irish operations this year, Lohan said he did not see anything "outside of the norm" in terms of how many net jobs may be added in the sector this year.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Muvija M, William Maclean)