The President of Athlone Chamber of Commerce says the expansion announced by Ericsson today is hugely significant for the town.
The company already employs 1200 people in the town and is now beginning the process of recruiting another 250 over the next three years.
Other similar companies have been expanding locally in recent years and the town now has a significant proportion of its workforce employed in the software sector.
Alan Shaw says the example set by Ericsson in investing so much in the base in Athlone is a clear signal of confidence and he hopes it will attract others to do the same.
"The message this sends out is that Athlone and the midlands region is the place to be. Ericsson at this juncture of the business cycle, coming out of Cpovid this is their really important time.
I think this news embeds them further in the lcola community and it will also have implications for perhaps other companies to look where they are basing themselves."
