Glassdoor says no change at Irish operations after Indeed parent buys it

Recruit Holdings, which owns rival Indeed, acquiring Glassdoor in $1.2bn all-cash deal

A pedestrian walks under the logo of Recruit Holdings in front of its headquarters building in Tokyo
A pedestrian walks under the logo of Recruit Holdings in front of its headquarters building in Tokyo

Glassdoor, an online job hunting service that has its European headquarters in Dublin, has said it is "business as usual" for the Irish subsidiary, after the company on Wednesday said it was being acquired by the parent of rival Indeed in a $1.2 billion all-cash transaction

Details of the agreement by Tokyo-based Recruit Holdings to buy Glassdoor were announced late on Wednesday.

Recruit, which previously acquired job search site Indeed for an estimated $1 billion in 2012, said it plans to operate Glassdoor as a distinct and separate part of its growing HR technology business segment.

A spokesman for Glassdoor told The Irish Times added are no planned changes for the Irish subsidiary, which currently employs about 30 people.

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Established in 2008, Glassdoor has approximately 59 million montly users based in more than 190 countries. Globally, it provides recruiting solutions to more than 7,000 employers, including 40 per cent of the Fortune 500.

The company announced plans to create 100 jobs in Ireland when it established operations here in late 2013. Glassdoor, earlier this year announced the appointment of John Lamphiere to run the EMEA operations from Dublin. At that time, it also announced plans to add to headcount locally given the "huge opportunities" for the company in Europe.

Glassdoor allows employees to post anonymous reviews of their companies, covering everything from salary details and workplace culture to what kind of questions to expect in interviews, and the effectiveness (or otherwise) of senior management. Job listings are also included on the site.

"Glassdoor is a strong brand and a great company with a mission we champion - making it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. They also have an amazing management team. Glassdoor allows Recruit to continue its long evolution of helping people discover opportunities. It's a great fit," said Hisayuki Idekoba (Deko), chief operating officer of Recruit Holdings and head of the company's HR technology segment.

While he said Indeed and Glassdoor will operate separately, Mr Idekoba said the companies “may partner on specific challenges down the road.”

Indeed, which currently employs about 750 people in Ireland, was co-founded by Paul Forster and Rony Kahan in 2004 and now has sites in over 60 countries and 28 languages. Its dedicated Irish site has 1.2 million unique visitors each month in the Republic as of September 2017.

Accounts filed late last year for Indeed Ireland Operations Ltd show income surged 48 per cent or more than €67 million to €208 million in 2016. However, losses climbed to €80.1 million from a restated €68 million due to increased expenses linked to expansion costs.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist