qCOSTARICA – Intel says it has reached 2,000 employees in Costa Rica at its plant in San Antonio de Belen and projects to increase its payroll due to the expansion of its operations in the country.
Timothy Scott, manager of government affairs and public relations for Intel Costa Rica, said that with the transformation experienced by the local operation, it also required higher qualified employees.
“Now we require mostly university graduates, not only engineers, but also specialized in areas such as administration, finance and human resources,” said Scott.
At the end of 2014, Intel shut down its manufacturing plant in Costa Rica and with it 1,500 jobs, keeping alive its services and then adding a new research facility.
At present, in Costa Rica, the company focuses on two major areas: research and development, which includes a mega laboratory testing centre; and global services centre, that includes several support groups.
At the research and development centre Intel has 1,250 employees; at global services 600; and, 150 at its support groups centre.
“We have shown that we have the human talent necessary to execute increasingly complex work in terms of finance and human resources. It is noteworthy that the group of leaders of this centre staffed 100% by Costa Ricans,” said Scott.
This is some welcome news for a change. Now, if we can only get this Government to create the necessary incentives to attract more business to the Free Trade Zones to increase employment and set the Colon at a more competitive exchange rate with the U.S. Dollar, maybe the generation of the necessary tax revenue/income to the Public Sector can be stimulated to the point of avoiding the proposed increased Sales/VAT Tax of 2% to 15% from the current 13%.