Axa to create 200 new jobs in Ireland over three years

INSURANCE COMPANY Axa is to create 200 new jobs in Ireland over the next three years with the establishment of a global life-product distribution and servicing subsidiary.

The jobs will be created at subsidiary Axa Global Distributors in Dublin. The jobs will be in marketing, finance, information technology, telephone sales, product development, customer services and policy administration.

The joint managing director of Axa Global Distributors, Matthieu André, said the decision to locate the headquarters in Dublin was due to the success of its other operations in the country, the availability of skilled graduates, and the access to EU markets.

Axa Global Distributors is a group function of its parent focused on wholesale insurance and investment activities. Its Dublin operation will provide distribution services for investment products, and provide back-office services to product underwriting entities in the Axa Group, primarily for Axa Life Europe.

Axa entered the Irish market in 1999, and now has about 1,000 staff here.

The news was welcomed by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who said the investment reflected the country’s reputation as a prime location for innovative companies.

“It is a positive endorsement from a global leader that Ireland can provide the necessary skills, pro-business policies and strong regulatory environment to assist companies such as Axa in rapidly growing their international business,” he said.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe said the investment win was proof Ireland could outperform competitors.

“The new jobs in high-value areas add momentum to Ireland’s economic recovery project and demonstrate that we can continue to win investments against stiff competition from other countries,” he said.

The news follows a number of announcements affecting the jobs market in recent weeks.

Last week international computer games firm Electronic Arts said it planned to open a European customer service and operations centre in Galway, creating about 200 jobs. Telecoms company Telefonica is to create 100 jobs at its Dublin office, and US internet security company Webroot will create 50 jobs over the next two years.

However, Pfizer recently announced it would cut 785 positions from its Irish operations as part of a fundamental restructuring of its manufacturing business, which will mean 6,000 job cut worldwide.

Almost 200 jobs were lost at the healthcare group Covidien, the biggest employer in Tullamore, Co Offaly, last week.