Two U.S. companies seek 470 employees in Costa Rica

Following various announcements of layoffs, closures and businesses relocating their Costa Rican operations, two technology companies this week announced they will expand their staff here.

Fiserv, a U.S. provider of financial and technology services, plans to hire 400 employees in coming months, the company announced in a press release.

In October the company will hire its first 50 workers and then will continue hiring over the next year.

The company is recruiting bilingual professionals and technicians in finances and for various information technology and engineering posts.

Country manager Francisco Alba said the company has more than doubled its staff here in the last three years — from 250 to over 500. “And we intend to double that figure again over the next three years,” he added.

The Wisconsin-based company started operating in Heredia in 2004 and will open new offices in September in the Cartago canton of Tres Ríos.

Recruiters will begin looking for candidates at public and private universities, but interested job-seekers can also apply on the company’s website.

UST Global to hire 70

Another U.S. company UST Global announced Thursday that it has 70 openings for employees to handle operations with its Costa Rican customers.

The California-based IT company is currently seeking .NET developers and specialists in software quality.

Costa Rica manager Douglas Sánchez said the company plans to compete in the local market, which represents a challenge considering the number of IT companies operating here, but also represents a growth opportunity.

UST Global launched operations in Costa Rica last year after negotiations with the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency.

Interested job-seekers can submit their resumes to: marco.cervantes@ust-global.com or douglas.sanchez@ust-global.com.

Costa Rica’s job market this year has been shaken by business closures and relocations which, according to figures from the Labor Ministry, have already left more than 1,700 people out of work.

That figure does not include dismissals announced by iconic Tico snack company Alimentos Jack’s. Earlier this year the company announced that it was relocating 50 percent of its operation to the U.S., El Salvador and Nicaragua over the next five years. At the time, company managers said they would be dismissing some 125 of their 700 employees in the coming months. Following relocation of the manufacturing plant, the company likely will dismiss more workers.