IT / ICT
Due to its convenient location right in the centre of Poland, Łódź has many assets which attract investors and make it attractive for activities related to innovative technologies. The development of the city in multiple areas and directions attracts young and innovative people; they are keen to develop their skills and competencies, and invest in new technologies. The city and its IT and ICT potential has been built on the basis of previously developed sectors such as telecommunications and services.
Employment in the IT sector in the Łódź Province has been gradually growing. While according to the most recent ABSL report, the headcount in Łódź IT centres amounts to 8,9 thousand people 1, according to Antal’s estimations, the total number of IT specialists (including those employed in other sectors) exceeds 16 thousand people 2 .
For the last 3 years, there has been a 5% increase in Łódź, which is slightly lower than the nationwide dynamics throughout Poland (where the rate is 8%), what demonstrates that the region still offers a recruitment potential to IT investors. It is worth noting that the dynamics estimated by Antal experts in the Łódź agglomeration amounts to 10%.
In the last few years, Łódź has been becoming more and more visible on the map of Poland as regards the development of ICT services. In recent years, many IT companies chose Łodź for the development of their R&D centres, given the presence of highly qualified personnel and graduates of technical universities.The following companies opened their R&D centres in Łodź: TOMTOM, Harman, Ericsson, Fujitsu, ZF Group. Other new investments can be characterised by offering business applications support and development services mainly to international customers. There are relatively few new IT companies offering IT infrastructure maintenance and development services, as well as IT service desk and helpdesk services (including: Atos, Fujitsu, Infosys).
Currently, there are about 7000 business entities operating in ICT in the Łódź region.3
1 ABSL Report, Business Services Sector in Poland 2020.
2 Human capital in Łódź, Antal Report, November 2019
3 Łódź – A good place for investors, Deloitte Report, November 2019
