Intel Ireland will hire up to 500 new staff at its campus at Leixlip, Co Kildare, after getting approval from its US parent to make the next generation of computer chips.

The company is preparing to install high-spec manufacturing equipment in its Fab 14 plant at Leixlip, which has been recently upgraded at a cost of $500m (€400) More than 500 Intel Ireland workers, who were seconded to the US for training in the new technologies, will return to Ireland and 500 new workers will be employed, according to sources.

Paul Otellini, the Intel chief executive, said this month that some of the company's new nanometer (nm) chips would be made in Ireland. Intel confirmed the Fab 14 factory in Leixlip "is being prepared to run 14nm technology and beyond". Intel, which has invested more than $7 billion in Ireland, is also preparing for the next phase of investment in Leixlip, which could result in billions in investment and thousands of new jobs.

The company is seeking planning approval for a new factory of more than 162,000 sq metres, five times the size of Ikea in Dublin. The development would include a car park with 2,200 spaces. Intel said the planning permission was "speculative" and would ensure it was ready if it secured future investment from its US parent. The overall planning process for its Fab 24 plant, which cost $2 billion to build, took 38 weeks.

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Gavin Daly, The Sunday Times, 27/05/12