TikTok has reversed its original intention of situating a significant number of its employees in the Tropical Fruit Warehouse offices based in the south docklands area of Dublin. Previously, the social media corporation, owned by China, had secured a long-term lease of this facility in August 2022 and begun preparations to house up to 800 employees. Now, however, a decision has been made to consolidate all Dublin-based employees at its European head office, the Sorting Office, located not far away on Cardiff Lane.
This change in course was shared with employees through an internal memo circulated by TikTok’s management. It read: “Following a thorough review of the business and consideration of various factors, including post-pandemic work habits, we have determined that The Sorting Office provides ample workspace and meeting room capacity for all staff. Consequently, we are modifying our plan and will instead unify our entire Dublin workforce at one location.
“The Sorting Office has emerged as a lively area since its inauguration last year. We are confident that a single, unified location will cultivate a stronger sense of team unity and streamline face-to-face collaboration across all levels of the organisation.”
The Sorting Office, despite not having the capacity to house all nearly 3,000 TikTok employees at once, has sufficient space to meet the flexible working arrangements the company has adopted following the pandemic. The bulk of the social media platform’s employees work in the office three days weekly, with only a handful of teams required to be onsite five days a week.
TikTok, having opted not to take up residence in the Tropical Fruit Warehouse, follows suit from its earlier withdrawal two years ago from a potential lease agreement for 16,443 sq m (177,000 sq ft) at the Marlet Property Group’s Shipping Office complex on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. Of this space, around 7,432 sq m (80,000 sq ft) has subsequently been secured by the global financial powerhouse, BNY.
The current intentions of TikTok regarding the Tropical Fruit Warehouse remain undetermined. In 2022, the tech giant entered into a long-term rent agreement with Iput, the building’s developer, at approximately €60 per sq. ft. The possibility remains that the company may seek to sublease all or a fraction of the 7,897 sq m (85,000 sq ft) space to one or multiple tenants, or might transfer the lease partially or completely.
Companies are currently on the hunt for the most eco-friendly office spaces in order to reach their ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives. In this aspect, the Tropical Fruit Warehouse comes across as a more enticing option for future tenants when compared to some of the city’s older commercial properties.
The property, the last original warehouse left on the city’s quays and built in 1892, has undergone a complete restoration. Today, it consists of a six-storey office building boasting leading sustainability and efficiency credentials. This building was amongst the first renovation projects in Ireland to meet the new Nearly Zero Energy Buildings standards. It also complies with the LEED Platinum standards, the top achievable rank in the environment-friendly building certification process. Additionally, the building has achieved a WELL-Gold status.