An MNC in Ireland (Dell)

  • Dell was founded on February 1st 1984 by American businessman, Michael Dell

  • Its global headquarters are now situated in Round Rock, Texas

  • It is the third biggest computer vendor in the world, after Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard (HP)

  • It is the world’s leading direct computer systems company, employing over 120,000 people in 180 different countries

  • It ships around 145,000 systems worldwide every single day, equalling around 46 million units per year

  • It has divided the computer world into three distinct regions:

  1. Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) - Their regional headquarters are in the UK. They employ approximately 27,500 people between their manufacturing facilities in Limerick, Cork and Lodz in Poland and their offices in 30 other countries

  2. Asia, Pacific and Japan - Their regional headquarters are in Singapore. They employ about 50,000 people between their manufacturing facilities in China, India and Malaysia and their office in 13 other countries

  3. Americas - Their regional headquarters are also the global headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. They employ 42,500 people between their manufacturing facilities in North America and Brazil in their offices in 10 other countries

  • It first set up in Ireland in 1990

  • It now has manufacturing facilities in Limerick and Cork and a European business campus in Cherrywood, Dublin.

  • The majority of its inputs are imported, reflecting the global nature of the company

  • Reasons why Dell located in Ireland:

  1. English-speaking community

  2. Young, highly-educated workforce

  3. Tax free access to EU markets

  4. Low corporation tax (12.5%)

  5. Excellent support from the government (grants) (so far Dell has received up tp €55 million)

  6. Proximity to Shannon airport (great link to global headquarters in Round Rock, Texas)

  • Advantages of having Dell in Ireland

  1. Employs around 4,500 people directly and many more indirectly (e.g. in packaging, transport etc)

  2. Employees spend their incomes in Limerick, Cork and Dublin, benefitting local economies

  3. The government receives higher tax revenues which can then be invested elsewhere in the economy (i.e. the multiplier effect)

  4. It is one of Ireland’s largest exporters and technology companies. Therefore, its contribution to Ireland’s GDP is colossal

  • In 2009, Dell was forced to make 1,900 redundancies in Ireland due to the global economic downturn. However, this was also influenced by their decision to double employment and output at their plant in Lodz, Poland due to the availability of cheaper workers and even lower tax rates there. This caused massive upset and controversy at the time.