The social networking giant says that it will employ 1,500 people in Dublin by the end of the year, with room to expand to 2,000 employees.

The news comes as the company announced a new partner centre in Ireland, the first of its kind outside of its headquarters at Menlo Park in California. The centre will enable businesses to come and explore Facebook’s current apps and services.

First established

Facebook first established operations in Ireland in October 2008, setting up with just 30 people in Dublin. It now employs 1,300 people locally with over 68 nationalities represented.

Facebook moved into a substantial new building beside the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in 2014, with capacity for 1,000 employees. Since then it has taken on additional space next door, at 5 Grand Canal Square, with enough capacity to bring employee numbers to 2,000.