The Portwest clothing company says a global expansion programme will lead to the creation of more than 50 jobs at its Co Mayo headquarters.

The jobs will be in product development, marketing and finance at the Westport facility and will be filled over the next five years.  

The positions come as part of a major expansion which will take in Africa, the US, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. 

Portwest makes high-visibility work-wear, rainwear and protective footwear. It already employs 800 people at its factory in Bangladesh and plans to increase that to 2,000 by 2016. 

The company has warehouses in Britain, Poland, Dubai, as well as a recently opened facility for the North American market in Kentucky.

It plans to start recruiting for the additional Irish jobs in the coming months.