Apple is said to be in negotiations with the Irish Government and the IDA about expanding its Irish operations in Cork, reports the Independent. Apple currently employs 4,000 people and is the biggest employer in the area along with EMC.

It is understood that Apple has plans to buy land adjacent to its Hollyhill operations, a move that will create thousands of new jobs and result in hundreds of millions of euros in investment. The new expansion would mean the acquisition of a Cork County Council land bank that operated as a traveller halting site for the past two decades.

Just 18 months ago, Apple finished an expansion plan involving €300 million and leases in two office blocks in Cork. In addition, Apple has just announced a major €850 million investment in data centre operations in Athenry, Galway, powered by renewable energy, which will create 200 construction jobs.

The company’s plans for this extra space are yet unknown, but there are two possible plans on the table: the most ambitious one involves doubling the available factory space, while the second one involves a smaller expansion.