ARM has created 1,000 jobs since SoftBank takeover

British microchip giant ARM has hired more than 1,000 new staff since the sale to Softbank. The company’s Japanese owner Masayoshi Son has stuck to his takeover pledge to increase investment in the UK and around the world.

A report by Softbank shows that ARM’s UK workforce has grown from 1,749 to 2,173 in the year since the takeover was finalised. Likewise, the company’s global workforce has expanded, jumping from 2,220 to 2,845.

ARM was sold for £24 billion last year having established itself as one of the UK’s most prominent tech companies. The sale to a foreign buyer was met with scepticism. Much like the reaction to the recent deal to sell Imagination Technologies to China, many within the sector saw ARM’s sale as a indictment of a lack of British global ambition. In order to satisfy the critics, SofBank said it would double the number of UK and global employees, as well as the number of high-tech staff. It also promised to keep its headquarters in Britain. The pledges are part of new Takeover Code rules put in place to prevent foreign companies from breaking agreements with British firms.

“This progress on undertakings illustrates not only SoftBank’s ambition to develop ARM into one of the leading global technology companies, but also its commitment to UK jobs and research and development,” a spokesman said.

The first report, audited by Grant Thornton, showed a 25 per cent rise in total headcount, suggesting ARM is on track to more than double staff within five years. The company also opened two new offices in Cambridge to bring its total to 11.