PayPal boss calls on Dundalk staff to rent rooms to new employees

Louise Phelan of PayPal

PayPal Ireland boss Louise Phelan has revealed that the multinational is asking its staff to offer rooms to new employees who cannot find rental accommodation here.

While rental problems in Dublin are well known, good quality accommodation is also increasingly hard to come by in Dundalk, where PayPal employ over 1,000 staff.

Between their site in the Xerox Technology Park and another in Ballycoolin in Dublin, PayPal currently employs around 2,400 staff in Ireland but Phelan told the Construction Industry Federation conference yesterday that the country risks losing out on further foreign direct investment if staff cannot be accommodated.

PayPal revealed that the problem is so bad that they are forking out as much as €2,000 extra for new employees coming to Ireland in order to pay for a hotel when they arrive.

PayPal in Dundalk hires over 1,000 staff

Phelan admitted that “our greatest challenge today is rental property.”

She said: “Property prices are a consistent problem for my teammates trying to find somewhere to live.

“In terms of housing, I’m asking all teammates in Ballycoolin in Dublin and Dundalk to see will they rent rooms for teammates that I am bringing in from 26 countries because they can’t get accommodation.”

Ms Phelan warned that future foreign direct investment would be put in doubt if the problem continued.

“It costs about €1,500 to hire an invividual but today it’s costing me about €3,500 upfront to find a hotel for at least two to three weeks. It’s crisis time for us and for brining in foreign direct investment overall.

“The reality is that the IDA do an amazing job, but if you don’t have the after-care service for people, FDI won’t invest in you.

“It used to be about how many people I can hire. Now it’s about how many people I can hire and get schools for their families and get into a home.”

Ms Phelan said it was important that banks were lending to those interested in buying.

“First of all, I would say that the banks need to start lending again to people who can afford a mortgage and are being turned down and to developers who want to create the homes and commercial premises.

“But there is no point in the construction industry producing commercial property unless you’re going to match it with residential property to support it. We need to improve quality of life for people, for example to make more schools available,” she said.

PayPal wins Excellence in Workplace Award

Pictured at the 2015 Chambers Ireland CSR Awards (L to R) are Ian Talbot, CEO of Chambers Ireland; Annette Hickey, Director Customer Solutions, EMEA, PayPal; Paul Ryan, Senior Director Risk, Financial Services and Compliance Operations EMEA, PayPal and Minister Alan Kelly, T.D., Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

PayPal won a prestigious Chambers Ireland Corporate Social Responsibility Award 2015 at a ceremony held last week in Dublin. PayPal received the ‘Excellence in the Workplace’ award in recognition of its Live Well Programme.

PayPal’s European operations centres are based in Ballycoolin Business Park, Blanchardstown and the Xerox Technology Park in Dundalk. Its talented workforce is integral to PayPal’s international business, which serves more than 169 million active accounts across the world. PayPal also plays a major role in the local community by supporting many businesses and charities in both areas.

The Chambers Ireland award was given to PayPal in recognition of its Live Well Programme which offers its 2,400 teammates in Ireland access to comprehensive healthcare, free annual health checks, smoking cessation programmes and dental services. An onsite gym, restaurant and café are provided to teammates in both Dublin and Dundalk, and free exercise classes and healthy eating options are offered to employees.

Speaking about the Corporate Social Responsibility Award, Louise Phelan, Vice President of PayPal’s Global Operations in Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “It is a huge honour for PayPal to receive this award in recognition of the benefits we offer to our teammates. Our people are our greatest asset and we invest in their careers and in their wellbeing. Our Live Well Programme is built on our teammate’s feedback and our desire to encourage health and wellbeing amongst our teammates. We are determined to build further on the success of this programme to keep our teammates, happy, healthy and well. It is great to see PayPal being recognised externally for all that we do.”

Development site beside Xerox close to being sold

The land for sale at Xerox, which was marked sale agreed this week

A substantial development land site on the outskirts of Dundalk is close to being sold after going sale agreed this week.

REA Gunne Property brought an 8.99 hectare area (22.23 acres) adjoining the Xerox Technology Park to the market in May for an undisclosed sum. The land is currently zoned as ‘Employment Mixed Use’ and could be of interest to anyone who wants to expand the business offering in the area.

Notable businesses operating beside the land include Xerox, PayPal, eBay, Warner Chilcott, Furniture Link and National Pen.

Two substantial sites on outskirts of Dundalk up for sale

The land for sale at Xerox

Two substantial development land sites on the outskirts of Dundalk have gone on the market in the past week.

REA Gunne Property have an 8.99 hectare area (22.23 acres) for sale for an undisclosed sum adjoining the Xerox Technology Park. The land is currently zoned as ‘Employment Mixed Use’ and could be of interest to anyone who wants to expand the business offering in the area.

Notable businesses operating beside the land include Xerox, PayPal, eBay, Warner Chilcott, Furniture Link and National Pen.

Meanwhile, Sherry FitzGerald Carroll have 6.33 hectares (15.68 acres) of development land for sale at Ballybarrack on the Ardee Road for an asking price of €250,000.

While currently used as agricultural land, it is described as offering great potential for future development subject to planning permission. A low density housing development has previously had planning permission year although it has now expired.

The lands remain zoned phase 3 residential for future development and expansion of Dundalk town.

The land for sale at Ballybarrack

New village type development featuring over 1,000 houses given the go ahead for outside Dundalk

Part of the proposed development would be located on lands to the rear of St Paul’s Church in Haynestown

The go ahead has been given for over 1,000 new homes on the outskirts of Dundalk.

The new village type development at Haggardstown and Haynestown has been granted planning permission by Louth County Council.

Dublin-based Groveview Builders Ltd put forward two separate applications in February to construct a residential and mixed use development on the outskirts of the town, consisting of 1,450 dwellings.

The larger of two developments planned by Groveview is a retail, commercial and residential development located from the Clermont Road to the Marlbog Road. Access to the new village-type  development would be via the Clermont Road, the Marlbog Road and the Dublin Road.

It would comprise of 779 houses, 285 apartments in 28 three storey blocks, 76 commercial units comprising offices, financial institution retail units, a mini market, a pub and restaurant, a crèche, a community facility centre and a reserved site for a new primary school.

There would also be five reserved sites for crèches and a proposed distributor road to be located to the west of the site. A further distributor road would be built to accommodate a dormer house on Chapel Road.

As part of the development agri buildings would be demolished and underground car parking installed, as well as other site developments such as landscaping, the installation of a pumping station, outfall foul and surface water sewers and boundary and surface treatments.

The company, run by developer brothers Michael and Cathal Cannon, previously won a planning appeal in 2010 to build 257 homes in Haynestown after Louth County Council had initially refused them planning permission.

They have now secured permission to build these again, in addition to the above development.

The development consists of 257 dwellings (in lieu of 285 number previously approved dwellings in sector one of approved development under planning register reference number 03/1754).

In total this section would consist of 61 two bed two storey dwellings, 100 three bed two storey dwellings, 62 three bed two storey dwellings and 34 four bed two storey dwellings, with an option four bed two storey dwelling without the ground floor extension.

The total area of lands the subject of this application is circa 8.11 hectares located to the west of the Dublin Road, south of the Marlbog Road, north of the Clermont Road and east of new distributor road (currently under construction) at Haynestown.

A report earlier this year said there was a need for 1,100 new homes in Dundalk, with that area of the town in particular demand due to the number of jobs recently created in the Xerox Technology Park by companies such as PayPal, eBay and National Pen.

New village type development planned for just outside Dundalk

Part of the proposed development would be located on lands to the rear of St Paul’s Church in Haynestown

Over 1,000 new homes are being planned for a new village type development at Haggardstown and Haynestown, just outside Dundalk.

Dublin-based Groveview Builders Ltd have applied for planning permission to construct a residential and mixed use development on the outskirts of the town consisting of 1,450 dwellings.

Plans for the massive development first came to light in 2003 but are now being reconsidered due to the ongoing demand for property in the area.

A report earlier this week said there was a need for 1,100 new homes in Dundalk, with that area in particular demand due to the number of jobs recently created in the Xerox Technology Park by companies such as PayPal, eBay and National Pen.

The larger of two developments planned by Groveview is a retail, commercial and residential development located from the Clermont Road to the Marlbog Road. Access to the new village-type  development would be via the Clermont Road, the Marlbog Road and the Dublin Road.

It would comprise of 779 houses, 285 apartments in 28 three storey blocks, 76 commercial units comprising offices, financial institution retail units, a mini market, a pub and restaurant, a crèche, a community facility centre and a reserved site for a new primary school.

There would also be five reserved sites for crèches and a proposed distributor road to be located to the west of the site. A further distributor road would be built to accommodate a dormer house on Chapel Road.

As part of the development agri buildings would be demolished and underground car parking installed, as well as other site developments such as landscaping, the installation of a pumping station, outfall foul and surface water sewers and boundary and surface treatments.

The company, run by developer brothers Michael and Cathal Cannon, previously won a planning appeal in 2010 to build 257 homes in Haynestown after Louth County Council had initially refused them planning permission.

They have now sought permission to build these again, in addition to the above development.

The development consists of 257 dwellings (in lieu of 285 number previously approved dwellings in sector one of approved development under planning register reference number 03/1754).

In total this section would consist of 61 two bed two storey dwellings, 100 three bed two storey dwellings, 62 three bed two storey dwellings and 34 four bed two storey dwellings, with an option four bed two storey dwelling without the ground floor extension.

The total area of lands the subject of this application is circa 8.11 hectares located to the west of the Dublin Road, south of the Marlbog Road, north of the Clermont Road and east of new distributor road (currently under construction) at Haynestown.

The council will decide on the applications by mid-April.

No eBay jobs expected to be lost in Dundalk

Proposed job losses in eBay are not expected to affect its Dundalk operation, according to reports.

The online auction site announced plans earlier this week to cut 2,400 jobs worldwide ahead of a split with its sister company, PayPal, later this year.

eBay currently employs 600 people in Ireland between its facility at the Xerox Technology Plant in Dundalk and a centre in Blanchardstown in west Dublin.

It had been feared that Dundalk would be targeted for job cuts due to the fact that no redundancies would have to be paid, with the company only opening locally in April 2013.

However, it is now understood that no customer service positions will be affected – something which makes up the bulk of the jobs in Dundalk. Indeed, the local operation is still hiring on an ongoing basis.

Fears for Dundalk jobs as eBay confirms plans to cut 2,400 jobs globally

As speculated before Christmas, eBay has confirmed plans to cut 2,400 jobs worldwide.

This makes up around 7% of its global workforce, slightly less than the 10% cut predicted when news of the company’s plans broke last month.

With its European HQ in Ireland, eBay employs around 2,500 people in Dundalk and Dublin and while it is not clear whether any Irish jobs will be effected, there will be fears over positions locally due to the fact the vast majority of staff at the company’s base in the Xerox Technology Park would not be entitled to redundancy.

The cuts are to be made in the first quarter of the year and come ahead of the split between eBay and sister company PayPal into two separate entities by mid-2015 in an effort to maximize shareholder value.

eBay announced the plans cuts while reporting its fourth quarter earnings yesterday and also revealed that it was exploring the possible sale or IPO of its eBay Enterprise unit.

eBay first acquired PayPal, an online payment processing service, in 2002 for $1.5 billion. While it once made sense to pair an online auction house with a payments company, some investors and outsiders called for a split long before the official announcement so the two companies can better focus on their core products.

The eBay facility in Dundalk officially opened its doors in April 2013 and has become one of the town’s biggest employers in that time.

Dundalk jobs could be at risk if eBay proceeds with plans to cut 10% of its workforce

A number of jobs at eBay’s Dundalk site could be in jeopardy if the company proceeds with plans to lay off as much as 10% of its workforce.

The Wall Street Journal has stated that the sales site could be set to cut back on the number of staff it employs in anticipation of the company’s planned separation with sister company PayPal, who are also based at the Xerox Technology Park in Dundalk.

The job cuts, if they go ahead, are likely to affect each site and could involve around 3,000 people globally being made redundant. The Journal reported that those within the company’s marketplace division would be most at risk.

The report comes just three months after eBay announced it would split its online marketplace from PayPal by mid-2015.

eBay first acquired PayPal, an online payment processing service, in 2002 for $1.5 billion. While it once made sense to pair an online auction house with a payments company, some investors and outsiders called for a split long before the official announcement so the two companies can better focus on their core products.

The eBay facility in Dundalk officially opened its doors in April 2013 and has become one of the town’s biggest employers in that time. As well as having a facility in Dublin, Ireland is its European headquarters and if any job cuts came here they would most likely be in Dundalk given no redundancy payments would have to be made due to the short tenure in which staff have worked there.

Hughes Transport eye warehouse in Xerox

Xerox Technology Park in Dundalk

Hughes Transport could be set to move to the Xerox Technology Park.

The company, currently based on the Coes Road, have applied to Louth County Council for planning permission for a proposed logistic warehouse (1,352sqm in floor area and 11.062m high) at Site No 2 at the Dundalk Logistics Park at Xerox on the Dublin Road.

Their application includes the provision for vehicular parking and a new 2.4m high paladin boundary fence. They also want a new site entrance to an existing internal access road.

The council are due to make a decision on the matter by December 3^rd.