Goldman Sachs to hire several hundred people in Warsaw

WARSAW (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs will hire "several hundred" employees for its Warsaw-based technology and operations units over the next three years, the U.S. bank said on Thursday.

The decision follows moves by Swiss banking giants UBS <UBSN.S> and Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> to expand their operation centers in Poland, seeking to benefit from the country's relatively inexpensive and skilled labor force.

"In a strategic decision, the firm will now expand its footprint in Warsaw," said Goldman Sachs spokesman for central and eastern Europe, Adib Sisani.

"The expansion will be realized in a phased approach over the next three years to an office size of several hundred employees," he said.

Goldman Sachs technology units are providing services for clients to support their sales, trading, banking, investment management and investment research operations, the bank said.

The units also support Goldman's own legal, compliance and human resources management.

Poland, an European Union member since 2004, is central and eastern Europe largest economy. The country has enjoyed uninterrupted economic growth over the last two decades, but the average corporate wage is less than a third of its equivalent in Germany.

Goldman Sachs has had an office in Warsaw since 2011, including a small technology unit.

(Reporting by Marcin Goettig and Pawel Florkiewicz; Editing by Keith Weir)