Košice hosts the world's second oldest marathon. (source: TASR)
US IT corporation IBM launched a large recruitment campaign earlier this year, but it is no longer relegating its search for new employees to Bratislava, but expanding it to Košice. The company plans to transfer to Košice activities with higher added value and to employ people especially for higher paid positions, like consultants and specialists, the Hospodárske Noviny business daily wrote in early September.
The east of Slovakia is attracting investors with its experienced and cheap labour force and good universities.
By the end of 2013 there should be 170 new employees at IBM in Košice. If the location in Košice proves successful, the company wants to continue recruiting new employees. IBM’s new location in Košice will provide services for central European countries.
Branislav Kohl, the head of the marketing department at IBM in Slovakia, refused to specify the size of the space they are building in Košice. The company has extended its workforce in Slovakia by 400 to 4,600 people so far this year.
Earlier this year IBM unveiled a plan to create as many as 3,000 new jobs. Slovakia was one of five countries competing for this investment. IBM later halted the project.
“Košice is suitable for such an investment,” Ľuboš Vančo, managing partner of KPMG told the daily. “There are technical schools in the city as well as the airport. Moreover, this will be a clean investment, meaning no pollution for the city as well as job opportunities for people with secondary and university education.”
